Bloodlust
by RosaKei
Summary: The Ackermans are infamous for their crimes or more specifically, murder. Deep inside an Ackerman's heart rests their deranged bloodlust. Without proper control and discipline, something that Mikasa struggles with, chaos is bound to breakout. Mikasa and Levi Ackerman embark on a mission involving Eren Jaeger, the future heir to the royal throne, and Kenny expects no failure.
1. The Ackermans

**Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.**

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_Knives._ Knives can be used for all sorts of activities, ranging from preparing a scrumptious meal to murder. They are viewed as simple equipment for the _'innocent'_ whose hands are clean from bloodshed. However, they are also viewed as weapons of torture more than defence to peculiar types of people. One clan in particular was obligated to view it as the latter—the murderous one. That clan was the infamous _Ackermans_.

The Ackermans were masked villains that roamed the Underground district, staining their hands with blood for others who were willing to pay the price, but unwilling to commit the deed. From time to time, they would venture the surface, hiding in the alleyways as they proceeded with their business. Although they were bold and strong, they would often refuse any task that required too much involvement with royalty.

Many wonder the history of the Ackermans, however, none dared seek the answer. They were known for being monstrous after all. Little was really known about them. And considering that they were masked, it wasn't easy to identify them either. The innocent bread shop owner across the street could be an Ackerman, and no one would know. Many called them cowards for this reason, and yet, ironically, some of that many had probably sought out help from them.

Though, some time ago, the Ackermans began to be severely wiped out. Some say it was a disease that broke out that they were susceptible to, others say that the late King finally decided to actually take action against them. Yet, it was odd how the infamous clan—known for their physical abilities, along with their manipulations and such—were quick to be defeated.

At least, most of them were. There were just a few Ackermans left that no one could catch. To everyone's knowing, there were three left. No one knew their names, no one knew their faces. But everyone knew that they better rid them quickly in order to attain peace within the kingdom—at least, that's what the late King said.

That same King had passed away, along with his wife. The reasons for their death was unknown to commoners, and even to most of the royal and elite guards. But that didn't matter, there was an heir to the throne—Eren Jaeger—who was still alive and well. And when he'd finally turn twenty, the throne was all his.

As for the Ackermans, or at least what remained of them, they couldn't care less about royalty… at least two of them seemed very disinterested. For years ever since the _'Ackerman cleansing'_ (as what people called their wipe-out.), they had continued their lives as per 'normal'—committing crimes in place of those who feared to dirty their hands. It was ironic, how their supposed loyal customers would turn against them, supporting the cleansing of them, and yet come crawling to them, beseeching them to kill someone because they were too cowardly to.

It didn't matter. That was how life always was for them.

"Do we have any jobs today? I rather… finish it off quickly." A raven asked, as she glanced over to her brother who was sharpening a knife. "Yes we do, in a while. I take it that you already know the background of the situation?" He had responded. The way they talked about killing in such a casual way was nothing new, it was all they knew.

"Yeah… is _he_ coming back today?"

"Most likely. Kenny finishes his job with no delays. Although, I wish he would be late. His presence is shitty."

"You know, he's our boss, you sho—"

"_And?_" The older of the two asked in a snide manner.

Mikasa heaved a heavy sigh, sometimes she wondered how her older brother could be so open about his resentment towards their maniacal Uncle. While she shared similar sentiments towards him, she would more often bite back her tongue if he was in a sour mood. Perhaps that stem from the fact she was a little more terrified of him than Levi, for reasons she rather not recall at the moment. "_And_," She continued, "You know what happens if we disrespect him in front of his face."

"Yeah, he makes us spill more blood, commit more crimes than necessary. Riskier crimes. Amazing, isn't he? Did I forget to mention he tried to kill us before?" Levi scoffed sarcastically, before he lifted his knife, examining it meticulously to see if it was sharp enough. Their relationship with their Uncle wasn't always this bitter, but ever since their life took a darker turn, and with Mikasa having issues with her bloodlust, Kenny changed. He became stricter, and sometimes more violent during his trainings with Mikasa due to her lack of control. Maybe that's why she feared him more than Levi.

Mikasa only responded with a simple nod, muttering something inaudible before turning away from her brother and made her way to check on her own weapons. Catching a glance of her, Levi noticed a tinge of pain stinging her.

It was always this way. Behind the monotonous look that they wore and had acted as a mask, was an infinite amount of pain and guilt that they both gradually learnt to supress. In the first place, who with a sane mind would want to kill? At least, not them. Although, even with all the guilt they felt, they continued their journey on the bloody path set for them since birth, knowing that deterring away from it was not an option.

"You alright?" Levi managed to ask, setting down his knife and approached his sister. "What do you think?" She laughed weakly, responding with a rather rhetorical, bitter question before turning to face her brother.

Her monotonous look remained, her guard was still up for the most part. Yet, Levi noticed just a little bit of her vulnerability slipping out. A vulnerability that only he was permitted to see. He was the only one Mikasa could fully trust, the same went for Levi with her. They _only_ had each other in this hell after all. As for Kenny, he was more of a 'boss' to them rather than a family member.

"…It's not a solo mission." He assured. Comforting wasn't usually his forte, and while he had taken countless lives, there was still room left for him to show some form of empathy to her. "I'll be there just in case. Kenny knows better to assign you to one again." Levi sighed, "Has your control… improved?"

Little was known about the history of the Ackerman Clan, it was practically unknown to everyone on how the Ackermans had impeccable strength and how they were able to carry out such crimes in a ruthless way. Even Levi and Mikasa knew very little of their family's history thanks to Kenny, who kept information about their heritage to a minimum for whatever reason he refused to tell.

One thing both of them knew very well, however, was the bloodlust that hid in their veins, waiting to bite.

Levi managed to gain control of it… at least, more than Mikasa. The last time he had let his bloodlust get the best of him was years ago. Even so, the suppression of such corrupted desires was more difficult than it looked.

Levi still recalled how disastrous her first solo mission turned out. She was meant to kill one person, _just one_. But as if something had snapped in her, she went on a rampage, and started a well-known massacre in the underground district. While Kenny had explained to her before that it was just some form of 'puberty' Ackermans went through, it didn't exactly explain why her bloodlust unveiled itself at a much earlier age than the expected age of sixteen.

Fortunately, Levi had later came to her rescue, managing to tame the monster within her before snatching her back to the grimness of the shadows to hide. He knew this massacre wouldn't spread all too much nor would it be made public—considering the royalty and surface dwellers couldn't care less about the ones living beneath, they only seemed to ever show concern for the underground when it involved some illegal business that could benefit and profit them. Of course, such connections were not made known public.

In a way, it was a good thing since Ackermans—like most criminals— didn't like the spotlight all too much. And the last thing Levi wanted was an investigation to be conducted by the elite royal guards who were much more meticulous and a hassle to deal with as compared to the regular guards.

Although the underground was known for its several, countless and daily brutal and horrid crimes, there were still innocent people residing there who wished to lead a peaceful life—but their social and economic status said otherwise.

Levi still remembered the look she had when he removed her mask once they reached the safety of their hideout—their home. Her obsidian orbs had shifted into a darker shade, and although it was hard to see her pupils, he swore they were in slits. Was that how he looked like when his bloodlust got to him too?

He wasn't sure, nor could he care. He was more concerned for Mikasa—who was only thirteen during then, during her first bloodlust outbreak.

"I don't get it! Why must we _kill?!_" She once screamed before shedding tears. Levi tried his best to comfort her, but he didn't answer her question. He couldn't, because he didn't know the exact answer himself. He just knew that there was no escape from killing nor the bloodlust that had the possibility of consuming them whole if not supressed appropriately. He remembered his first 'outbreak' and how he failed to control it, it was a chilling memory, at the same time he recalled the wicked and disgusting satisfaction he felt from watching red liquid ooze from the corpses. Since then, he began to discipline himself to control it better— but he knew that wouldn't be enough to permanently prevent future outbreaks, even he hadn't had an outbreak for quite a long while. Although, there were times where he didn't mind succumbing to become a monster, but there were still… things and people that held his sanity together.

Unfortunately, unlike him, Mikasa struggled much more in controlling and containing.

After Kenny found out about Mikasa's little incident, while he was caught off guard by the abnormally early outbreak, he initially decided to shrug it off, thinking nothing too much of it. He assumed, like Levi, after her first 'outbreak', she would be able to control it better.

He sent her to another solo mission, and the results were the same—a bloody mess that drew in too much unwanted attention. He shrugged it off again, sending her off for another solo mission on and on again receiving the same results until he came to the conclusion that Mikasa had… _issues_. Long story short, because he wanted to keep a low profile and didn't want any unnecessary attention or future potential customers to be slaughtered, he became stricter with her and forbade her to go on any solo missions. For the most part, she was accompanied by Levi.

After all, it would just take one mess up from an Ackerman who lacked senses and control when the bloodlust took over to reveal everything, their identity included. At least with Levi to watch over her during their missions, the chances of her going completely out of spiral was lower since he would be there to bring her back to her senses. There was something about Levi that made Mikasa calm, perhaps it was because he was the only one who she could actually call family.

Back in the present, Mikasa eyes trailed towards her palms, where she envisioned blood stained on them, again. "I…" She paused, unsure of how to answer his question and instead, responded with one; albeit it seemed more directed at herself than him. "Why can't I control it…?" She mumbled. Ever since Mikasa found out about how uncontrollable her bloodlust was, she had given up any hopes of leading a normal life. When her emotions spiralled, anything trivial can trigger her bloodlust to take action, and the last thing she wanted to do was harm any more lives than the ones she was appointed to kill. At least now, after years of training and discipline, she had gotten _slightly_ better at controlling it, though she still had those moments where she came close to starting another massacre.

"Mikasa." Levi whispered, before gripping her shoulder in a reassuring manner. "Don't worry… I won't allow things to get out of hand."

Mikasa flashed a little smile, "Thank you." She murmured before standing up. "I just wish I could control it as well as you do." She continued silently, speaking too quiet for Levi's ears to catch. But before he could ask her to repeat her words, she grabbed both their masks resting on the table. She tossed Levi his, before wearing hers. "Let's get this done and over with."

Before anything else, Mikasa grabbed her cloak and necessary weapons before leaving immediately, lurking in the shadows. Levi sighed, following after swiftly.

* * *

_The lives that the Ackermans took weren't necessarily innocent ones._ They never were, and according to what Kenny told them, the Ackermans never took the lives of the innocent, unless their bloodlust got the best of them. Normally, after an Ackerman's first bloodlust-takeover, they'd be quick to control and adapt on their next kill. But that wasn't the case for Mikasa. He never explained why; and maybe it was because he didn't have one. She was the first abnormal case after all.

Before Mikasa's first bloodlust breakout, she had done all her kills swiftly, no flaws whatsoever. Kenny was amused at how quick she learnt to kill with skill, she was a fast learner just like Levi, if not, faster. That amusement didn't last long after he realised Mikasa's lack of control when it came to her bloodlust, but rather than disappointed he was more agitated and frustrated.

The lives that Ackermans often took were beyond corruption, at least that's what Kenny claimed. But at this point, both Mikasa and Levi were uncertain if he was just spouting flat lies—but even if he did, what could they do?

Levi had once thought about escaping Kenny's control, but he had to grudgingly admit, Kenny was a formidable opponent who wouldn't let them leave so easily, especially when they were the last known remaining bloodline of the Ackermans. The last thing Levi wanted was to endanger his sister's life if they were to get caught escaping.

Killing Kenny was an option, but that was anything but easy. Sure, both Levi and Mikasa were strong. But Levi knew even with an unfair fight with two against one, they probably stood no chance against him, their mentor who had taught everything they knew, but not everything he knew.

"Levi, we're here." Mikasa whispered.

_The lives the Ackermans took weren't necessarily innocent ones._ But, in this life, were there anyone truly pure? Humans are humans, they are bound to commit a crime or a sin, whether it be trivial or not. _So, doesn't that mean no one's innocent?_

The Ackermans can and will take anyone's life, is what outsiders said, and it's what Levi unfortunately and reluctantly had to agree.

"I'll deliver the kill. You just stay on a look-out." Levi murmured.

That night, they were sent to kill the guy who owned a well-known weaponry shop that Levi would often purchase his equipment from, at a very unreasonable price, and his crimes that he committed were unreasonable as well.

"But you delivered the kill last time… I know you don't like me dirtying my hands. I know you want to protect me. But it's only fair, I'm not little anymore." Mikasa silently argued.

"Mikasa. Now's not the time to argue. We agreed on thi—"

"You agreed, _not_ me."

Levi resisted an agitated groan, his tone grew grimmer, sterner. Even if he was soft to Mikasa at times, it didn't mean he wasn't any less strict with her when needed. "Mika—"

But before he could finish his sentence, Mikasa immediately pulled him aside before shushing him. The sound of footsteps were approaching towards their direction. Both Mikasa and Levi readied themselves, gripping tightly onto their knives. However, a familiar voice echoed the alleyway that caused them to loosen up their grip, but tense their shoulders.

"It's just me yer' little shits."

Taking a peek, they saw Kenny. _Kenny Ackerman._

"I got bored and handled yer' business. I would say I pity that old guy but he abused his wife, to the extent his daughter called out to us! Hah! That's a first in a long time." Kenny cackled.

Levi narrowed his eyes, Mikasa slowly approached him after Levi. All three had their masks on, and were prepared to flee should anyone catch them in the shadows. "What are you doing here?" Levi scowled. Kenny scoffed, "Not even a hello to yer' dear beloved Uncle? I'm offended. I thought I taught y'all manners."

Levi rolled his eyes. Mikasa simply looked away. "And my dear beloved niece can't look me in the eye. Ah, no matter. I don't have much time. I gotta' return to my business soon. I have a new job for you. Actually, a solo mission. For…" He lifted his index finger lazily, before pointing right at Mikasa. "For yer'. My favourite niece."

Mikasa tensed, Levi growled lowly. Kenny smirked, and continued before they could oppose, "It's on the surface." What? Both their eyes widened, but their Uncle didn't give them to express their shock at his sudden contradiction. "And, congratulations, for the first time in decades or centuries, my dear niece, your mission involves _the royal family!_"

Both of them widened their eyes, and Levi was the first to speak, "I'm not allowing it."

"Did you forget who _I_ am, Levi?" Kenny said threateningly, Levi clenched his fist. He didn't wish to start a fight with him, he knew better, he knew the consequences of losing to him. Kenny proceeded to approach Mikasa, towering over her. She bit her lip, in agitation and fright.

"You told us Ackermans don't accept requests regarding the royal family. And you instructed me specifically not to do any solo missions." Mikasa retorted softly, suppressing her fear.

I did say that. But it's time for a change. Something yer' rascals won't understand." Kenny then removed and threw some documents towards them as he began to summarize the context of the situation. "Your identity will be Mikasa Azu. You're from Oriental royalty. Seduce the prince or somethin', because this particular important customer wants information regarding—"

"_Seduce?!"_ Levi interrupted, and just from his tone, it was clear the male was livid and disgusted at such an outrageous idea. "You—"

Before Levi could continue, Kenny took out a knife and was quick to place its tip against Levi's neck, applying a little pressure on it as a threat. "Yer' know better than to shout, didn't I teach yer' that? Ackermans despise unwanted attention." Kenny scoffed, even with his mask on, Levi could feel an eerie smile spreading on his lips. After a tensed moment, Kenny retracted the knife and began to speak, "I'm feeling generous today even after yer' little temper tantrum. If Mikasa permits, yer' can accompany her. There's a reason why I don't want yer' to follow but… oh well. Whatever happens up there, it's y'all fault." Kenny commented, but Levi and Mikasa knew this wasn't an act of generosity, but more of the fact he didn't want Mikasa to suddenly go mad in the middle of town, up on the surface where security was much, _much_ higher.

"This special mission has no room for mistakes. If one of yer' messes up…well…" He proceeded to take out a knife, a different knife. The knife he used to kill their victim. It was stained with fresh, crimson blood.

He waved it in front of Mikasa's face. Mikasa flinched, but nothing more happened. "Seems like yer' getting better at controlling yer' bloodlust. A taunt like this after ya first outbreak made yer' go mad after your first outbreak. Pft. Teenagers and puberty." He joked, ignoring the uncomfortable atmosphere he was practically building up. "Then again, yer' still go cuckoo mad on your lil' shitty bad days when yer' kill." He teased harshly, Mikasa bit back a scowl. "But don't give me that look my beloved niece."

"All the information in those documents. I have other shit to deal with now." With that, Kenny turned and began to walk off. Although, he halted mid-way, turning towards them one last time. "Y'all both better scurry off now." The masked male then disappeared in the shadows.

Mikasa and Levi turned to each other, but before they could open their mouth and say anything else, they heard more footsteps coming, loud voices talking over one another about some racket going on. Ackermans never liked unnecessary attention, because any attention they received was for the worst, so both of the remaining Ackermans quickly fled.

As the Ackerman siblings hid in the shadows while they fled, at the corner of Mikasa's eye, she saw a group of people crowding over something. She then spotted a corpse laying outside the weaponry shop. She then noticed the people grieving, for the weaponry shop owner seemed like a jolly fella who didn't deserve an early demise. But then, she saw a little girl with her mother, crying—not out of despair, but rather out of joy, as if they were free.

Freedom was something Mikasa couldn't even dream of.

"Don't look." Levi chided quietly, "That isn't our mess that we had forgotten to clean."

Mikasa nodded, facing back front as they continued to sprint to their hideout. Deep down, the raven-haired female knew that the mess Kenny purposely left wasn't because he suddenly desired the spotlight, but to serve as a reminder to both of them. A reminder of their inescapable fate and bloody path they were forced to walk and the consequence that he would inflict on them should they fail.

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**Author's Notes: **

_Please leave a review!_ Just something I wrote out of boredom (and out of writer's block I'm having for _'Love'_, my other fanfiction on Eren, Mikasa and Armin Love triangle aha…)

I may continue this fanfiction or not, though my main priority now for fanfiction is to complete _'Love' _(hopefully T_T). But I would love to hear your thoughts on this fanfiction so _Please Leave A Review!_


	2. Inescapable Fates

**Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.**

**Note: Please read Author's note at the end.**

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_As the Ackerman siblings hid in the shadows while they fled, at the corner of Mikasa's eye, she saw a group of people crowding over something. She then spotted a corpse laying outside the weaponry shop. She then noticed the people grieving, for the weaponry shop owner seemed like a jolly fella who didn't deserve an early demise. But then, she saw a little girl with her mother, crying—not out of despair, but rather out of joy, as if they were free._

_Freedom was something Mikasa could only fantasize._

_"Don't look." Levi chided quietly, "That isn't our mess that we had forgotten to clean."_

_Mikasa nodded, facing back front as they continued to sprint to their hideout. Deep down, the raven-haired female knew that the mess Kenny purposely left wasn't because he suddenly desired the spotlight, but to serve as a reminder to both of them. A reminder of their inescapable fate and bloody path they were forced to walk and the consequence that he would inflict on them should they fail._

* * *

Meanwhile, on the _upper_ side of things, there was a King-to-be who had snuck away from his daily training. This King-to-be was _Prince Eren Jaeger of Paradis_, and this particular Prince was playing another one of his hide-and-seek games with his trusted royal guards and the other staff members. Unfortunately for him, he was found. Albeit, not by _them_.

"I knew… you would… be here." As those words were said, it was quick to be followed by heavy and weary pants.

The Prince remained sitting on the cliff's edge, his emerald orbs staring out at his kingdom beneath him. He was wearing nothing out of the ordinary; plain commoner's clothes. A simple green shirt with black pants. His attire was something that didn't seem that befitting for a King-to-be to be dressed in, but nonetheless the he didn't care so much. It wasn't as if he had anyone to look presentable for at the current moment, moreover he found his current attire more comfortable than the ridiculously long royal red cape he would often be forced to wear when he had to attend important events and national meetings.

"You always know where to find me, Armin." Eren called out as the blonde took a seat next to him after catching his breath. "You just have a terrible hiding spot, _your majesty_." Armin scoffed, which was followed by a laughter barely restrained when he saw his majesty visibly cringe at the title. "Don't call me that." The brunette groaned, nudging him slightly.

Armin was just a regular commoner who just so happened to work at the royal palace; although, not exactly in a high position even if he was praised for his remarkable intelligence by Eren and one particular advisor.

His and Eren's friendship go way back, and despite the majority of the council discouraging him from overly associating with someone as low as Armin, Eren still continued anyway. He was the first friend he made who treated him normally and was purely genuine. He didn't need to worry about the being judged for the way he acted, he didn't need to put up a façade.

As for Armin, he had always been there for him, and never once had he ratted the prince out for his rebellious behaviour _unless_ it was something very stupid. And maybe that's why they kept him around.

Around Armin, he received the normalcy he craved so much—something no one would've expected for him to want. After all, who _wouldn't_ want to be royalty? They were privileged, they were in control, they didn't need to worry so much… right?

"Yeah, yeah… what's on your mind, Eren? You don't normally come to this hiding spot unless you have something bothering you." Armin said, arching a curious brow.

In response, Eren heaved a heavy sigh which was already an indication to Armin that whatever was on his mind wasn't anything obviously good. It was the small smile that followed after which had flummoxed him a bit.

To Eren, it felt nice, to have someone genuinely be concerned for you—and not because they had other malicious intentions. Living the life of a royal made him realise a lot of things, that people would get close to you just to make you a puppet and fool. It was the ugly truth.

"You always know me Armin." Eren chuckled softly. Then, his smile soon turned to a frown. "You should also already know what's been bothering me then…"

"Your coronation?"

"Yeah, that… and also—"

"Your nineteenth birthday." Armin added, and Eren gave a nod of confirmation.

The King-to-be was to be crowned when he would reach the age of twenty. However, at his nineteenth birthday, a ball would be held, to find a suited future Queen for him, to rule the kingdom with him. The pressure he received from his advisors and other high-ranking members was immense. While there was no law that he couldn't marry a non-royal, prior discussions he had with the council said otherwise because then, _what'd be the point?_ In _their_ eyes, they wanted Eren to marry a royal for the benefits, such as resources, trade and many more. He couldn't help but find that utterly stupid. And what was beyond stupid was that he had to choose his Queen-to-be in such a short amount of time.

A summary of this tradition—that Eren had no choice but to follow— was that on his nineteenth birthday, a ball would be held where many princesses or people of high social status would attend and try to win the Prince's heart. But the _'excitement'_ wouldn't just end in one night, it would continue for at least a minimum of six months—unless the prince had already made the decision on the woman he wished to wed. In the span of these six months, the women would remain in the Kingdom of Paradis, rested in the castle's guest rooms. In the span of these six months, they'd compete for the Prince's heart, and should they give up—they'd leave. But of course, not a lot of women would give up such an opportunity to marry the Prince of Paradis, especially when Paradis had their fair share of valuable resources to offer.

Rarely would the Prince need more than six months to decide. In history, it never took the Prince or Princess even more than a month or two to decide. Though, Armin was sure that Eren would be that one Prince who'd take a decade, if not, _never_. After all, he barely (if not, had never) shown any interest with romance at all. If anything, he was fixated on something else; something more grim.

"It's stupid, in the end my marriage probably wouldn't be in the result of love—hell, _love_ isn't on my mind right now! And they expect me to find a partner in less than a year?" Eren vented with a familiar tone of frustration that Armin didn't fil to recognise. "You can always marry Christa." Armin joked, resulting in another nudge from Eren—a nudge just filled with a little more annoyance and playful force.

"We both know that's not going to work out. Hell, she's _not _into men. She likes Ymir. I don't think I want to get in between them…"

"That's perfect! Think about it. No pressure, no—"

"She isn't royalty," Eren added, "They want me to _especially_ marry royalty. If I don't, there would be several consequences. For one thing, even the townsfolk want me to marry royalty too, to boost our resources even though we have enough to suffice us!" He complained, "And it's not like we have any issues with trade with our neighbouring nations."

"Humans can be greedy Eren." Armin reminded him softly as he pulled his knees up to his chest. "We both know that… anyway, you're not planning to run away are you?"

"You know I can't." There was no hesitance as Eren said this, but there was a tone of disappointment mixed in his voice. As much as he wanted to run away from his responsibilities, he knew he couldn't and he knew he shouldn't. As much as he didn't enjoy being a part of royalty, he cared for his people; people whose future practically depended on him and his future decisions when he'd finally be crowned King. He didn't want any corrupt leaders ruling his kingdom. _Moreover, there were just some things he could only do and control as a royal._

"Plus, I still have _unfinished business._" Eren murmured in a forbidding way.

Armin blinked his ocean-blue eyes briefly. It didn't take him long to know what he was referring to. A frown of his own appeared as he asked, "…You're not talking about _them_, are you?"

"Who else?" Eren scowled bitterly as he clenched his fist. "Those _Ackermans_ deserve to rot in hell."

Armin glanced towards him with a look of concern and anxiousness, for he knew what danger awaited his brunette friend should he decide to take on the path of vengeance.

The real reason for his parents' death was unknown to many, even to most of the royal guards. The Council had lied to the people that both of them had unfortunately succumbed to an unknown illness. However, Eren had later inevitably found out the real reason behind his parent's death, or rather the people who were responsible for his parents' murder. _The Ackermans._

Ever since then, he had made it a personal mission to rid them, completely.

But it wasn't just that reason alone. He knew the terror that these Ackermans caused to his people, and he was determined to put an end to it. And once he was done with that, his next move would be to obliterate the underground district—the place where it was said that the corrupt dwell. Not to mention, the obliteration of the underground district had been in his father's will, where he wrote that it was to be carried out once Eren was to be crowned King.

"…don't you want to check out the underground district first?" Armin voiced out softly, as if he had read the brunette's mind. Unlike Eren, he wasn't all for the idea of destroying that place. Truth be told, not a lot of people dared to venture there. There were children's books and newspaper articles that warned the people of the criminals and monsters that roamed freely beneath—and as a result, it managed to scare away _some_ people. Other people didn't care, and went ahead.

Eren, Armin and many staff members were forbade to travel there—a rule made by the Council. They had claimed it was for their own safety, but Armin begged to differ for reasons other than his dangerous curiosity. For _a_ reason that Eren was unaware of.

"Huh? Why should I? It's a place for criminals to seek shelter. I would tear it down now if I could. But I don't have full control of this kingdom until after my coronation—all my decisions would have to be discussed with the Council and so on. But when I'm King, I can finally have the final say. I can eliminate the existence of underground district and the criminals residing there once and for all." His tone grew dark and so did his expression, "It sickens me that most of my advisors want to keep that place open for… goods. Illegal, fucking goods. Hypocritical don't you think?"

"And _suspicious!_ I'm just saying, we should check it out—"

"_No._ It's too dangerous… I don't want you hurt, and I don't even want to step foot in that revolting place. Many criminals that our guards have arrested come from there." Eren replied sharply, and that was the end of that conversation—Armin wasn't in the mood to argue, not now.

Granted, the underground district had some unique weapons, drugs and many more resources that the surface dwellers couldn't provide or make. But even so, that wasn't a good enough reason for Eren to keep that retched place open, especially with the many psychopaths that lurked beneath… like _the Ackermans_.

Eren wanted to rid the world of evil, was that goal so bad?

Though Eren's intention weren't bad, Armin couldn't help but feel a little…uneasy. Though, in all honesty, he felt sympathy for the brunette. Eren had been swallowed up by vengeance long ago, and he couldn't drag him out of it, he couldn't save him or his heart from being consumed whole by his own burning resentment and hatred. Because of that, he felt like he failed as a friend.

As his friend, he was fearful. The path of vengeance always led to no good—especially when it involved that deadly clan, or at least whatever's left of that Ackerman clan.

"… You know… wanting revenge isn't a good thing. I mean, I know… they killed your parents. I know you want to stop them, so the kingdom can be more secure and peaceful…but the other people in the underground… they—"

Before Armin could finish his sentence, another familiar voice was shouting to them from behind. At that familiar voice, Eren tensed while Armin sighed.

"Oi! You two! Everyone's looking for ya! I swear Eren if I could ground you I would! Do you know how tiring it is to climb this bloody hill?!"

From afar, a particular four-eyed women was running towards them, looking more frazzled than Armin earlier when he had just climbed the hill—it was Hanji Zoe, the woman who was in charge of the science side of things for the Kingdom. The woman who was nicknamed the strange scientist amongst the other staff members in the castle.

And she was the woman who also happened to be an advisor as well. An advisor that Eren couldn't bring himself to hate, the only advisor he ever bothered listening to.

Figuring that the earlier topic should be dropped and set aside for now, Armin let out a sigh as he taunted playfully, "I told you this was a terrible hiding spot." Eren only rolled his eyes, groaning quietly, before running his hand in his ruffled hair. "Not the time, Armin."

* * *

"You're _not _going."

The Ackerman siblings hadn't even stepped into their hideout, and Levi was already having the first and perhaps even the last word. "Lev—"

"_That's final."_ He hissed. "You getting involved in royal affairs is the last thing I want. I don't know what he's thinking, but you're not going. I'll go. You're staying here." Levi remarked in a commanding way, as he always did. He was almost always taking charge or making decisions for her. Although for the most part, Mikasa knew Levi just wanted to protect her—she couldn't help but find these _'over-dramatic'_ gestures irritating.

"You know I don't have a choice, Kenny—"

"Does it look like I give a shit?"

Levi didn't care for the consequences that he would have to face from Kenny should he rebel. He only cared for his dear sister's safety. It wasn't the fact that this mission required the involvement of royalty that bothered him so much, it was more of Mikasa's unstable bloodlust. Till now, he didn't even know what triggered her bloodlust. She could kill three people in a row, and still be sane. At the same time, she could kill one and the next thing you know, she would be on the verge of starting another massacre. The opposite could happen too. It was confusing, and Levi didn't wish to find out what would be her next reason for trigger. Not to mention, till now, she hadn't fully mastered the art of control and suppression.

Levi didn't want to risk her going mad on the surface. Plus, this was a mission that didn't exactly permit them to be unidentifiable behind a mask. So if Mikasa had another outbreak, she would risk the Ackerman's identity being found out. She would risk getting caught by the elite royal guards, which admittedly, were quite strong. Levi wasn't sure if he wanted that, and he didn't want to know what Kenny would do if that were to happen.

"But it's not like I have a choice." Mikasa repeated. However, before she could continue with her reasoning, Levi had cut in.

"Don't lie to me." He snapped, "That isn't the _only_ reason why you seem so insistent on taking on this mission, is it?"

Having been caught red handed, Mikasa flinched and looked away. Once again, Levi read her like an open book. It was true, she had other reasons for wanting to accept that mission. The reasons that Levi knew all too well was something he saw as perilous and foolish.

Mikasa had dreamt of living on the surface, to have a taste of what minimal normalcy that could be offered as she took on a different identity. It was a foolish idea for an Ackerman, she knew. But she couldn't help it. Freedom was something Mikasa could only fantasize, she knew very well the Ackerman blood running in her veins had confined her to this bloody path. But still, there was a small inner desire of hers to be normal, to just have a little brush of freedom before she'd be thrown back into a cage.

Once upon a time, Levi had the same dream as well, to escape to the surface. But as time went by, that dream had been diminished. He had come to the epiphany that such a dream was impossible for people like them, _people like Mikasa._ His sister had more of an extreme, uncontrollable and unstable bloodlust as compared to him, Kenny and the previous Ackermans. It was sad to say, but she couldn't live a normal life. Fate wouldn't allow it. For people like them, the underground was safer. The underground was like a shadow, a perfect place to take cover away from any unnecessary attention that could probably lead them to a death sentence.

It wasn't that Levi didn't want Mikasa or himself to lead a normal life. He was being realistic. Even if his bloodlust hadn't completely took over him for a while, it didn't mean it wouldn't happen again. The urge was always there when he killed, but successfully suppressed. Despite this, he knew people like them, who had this bloodlust, couldn't live a normal life on the surface.

_How could they?_

The most Levi could offer her, as her brother, was some normalcy that Mikasa desperately craved. He treated her normally and not like some psychopathic killer and just like he was her family, he was a friend to her as well. In return, Mikasa did the same.

"…Levi, I—"

"You're not going and that's fina—"

"_Listen to me!"_ The younger sister screeched. Mikasa didn't like to raise her voice to Levi, but sometimes it was the only way she could be heard without having his protective aura muffle her. "You can't baby me for the rest of my life, Levi." Rather than a snap, the tone Mikasa had was more… soft. She understood Levi's reason for worry, but at the same time, she had her own reasons of not wanting to be so dependent on him. She didn't want to burden him. "_'Problematic case'_ or not, I have to do things on my own. Whether it be… killing or whatnot. I—"

"Mikasa." Levi had cut her off, sounding harsher and sterner now. He didn't enjoy being harsh, but it was the easiest way to get his sister to back down—either that or it'd be a catalyst for an argument to break out. "I don't care if it's because you want to travel to the surface or whatever. This involves royalty. For all I know, they're probably the reason why our entire clan got wiped out. And it isn't just that, how am I going to protect you if you have another outbreak… in the public or worse, in front of that shitty Prince?"

Biting her lip, the female forced herself to not look away, feeling as if breaking any eye contact with her brother now would be a sign of submission—and she didn't plan to submit.

"I can protect myself. I—"

"Your bloodlust, Mikasa. It—"

"I know I'm a monster!" Now, she snapped. Her tone grew as harsh as hid and colder. There was a hint of bitterness as well, it wasn't like anyone liked calling themselves that— a monster, that is. Mikasa knew her bloodlust was more uncontrollable than normal. She knew this was risky. She knew how highly guarded was the royal palace, she knew that they were probably the reason why their clan got wiped out—why else had Kenny always seemed so against any mission involved with royalty? She didn't know what made him change his mind, and it wasn't like she can ask him now anyway.

But even so, she didn't mind the risk, if it meant that she had the chance to be on the surface, with a new identity—if she could live a normal life, even if it was temporary, even if she would have to reluctantly stain her hands with blood later. However, this wasn't her main reason for wanting to accept the mission; albeit it definitely was a contributing factor.

"You don't have to remind me that I'm a monster." She continued, "It doesn't matter either way… I just want to—"

"Enough with this shitty nonsense!" Levi yelled, before slamming his hands onto the table—that was enough to startle the younger raven. "You've been to the surface before with Kenny. It was short, sure. But that's enough time for you to savour. What if you go on a rampage? I don't even know what triggers your bloodlust anymore! Do you understand Mikasa? People like _us_ cannot live out there! Ackerman or not, majority of the surface people treat underground dwellers like fucking shits! Didn't Kenny teach you this when he brought you up there?! You can't run away from your bloodline, Mikasa—if that's your intention. That dream is foolish and childish! Wake u—"

"_I didn't ask to be an Ackerman!_" She cried out. "That dream isn't foolish. It isn't childish. _You_ were the one who told me before… that one day maybe—"

"I only said that before I realised how foolish it was—to think of escaping for good. Don't be unreasonable. Don't be a fool. You won't even be able to survive. You can't even control your fucking bloodlust! Remember what happened _last time_? You—"

Levi stopped there.

Mikasa was now on the verge of tears and Levi noticed, and felt regret sinking in.

'_Just fucking great…'_ He thought. He was supposed to be there for her, give her some normalcy in this chaotic life. Yet here he was, reminding her of something that she couldn't escape.

Here he was, making her cry.

"Mikasa… I—"

It had been too late. The sudden soft tone of his was too late to be used to calm the raven. The damage was done, and she was feeling a number of indescribable things. She wanted to cry, at the same time she felt so… angry. _Why did he have to say all that?_

Before she knew it, in the tensed moment of hurt, she started to say things she didn't mean as well. Cutting Levi off, she instantly retorted, "I am not like Isabel or Farlan." With that said, she didn't stay to see his reaction and turned away before fleeing to her room.

The moment she reached her room, a sense of regret now extinguished the sadness and anger she had felt just now. It was weird, how a single action can shift her emotions in a blink of an eye.

_Why did she say all that?_ Those words had left her lips before she could even stop them. She should've thought twice. She never enjoyed to have these sort of arguments with Levi, where emotions could actually get hurt. But sometimes fights between siblings were unavoidable, weren't they?

Meanwhile, at the mention of his late friends' name, Levi could feel the agonizing emotions clawing at his heart. His expression morphed into something pained. He didn't like to be reminded of his friends, because it made him feel like shit. But maybe he deserved it, he had probably left Mikasa feeling like this too—_hurt._

He had failed to protect them—Isabel and Farlan— and he didn't want Mikasa to meet a similar end.

'_You_ _were the one who told me before… that one day maybe—'_

She was right, he was the one who had put that idea in her head back when he still had salvageable hope for a better life. There had been a time when he had promised Mikasa that one day they'd live on the surface peacefully. But alas, he should've known not to keep promises if they would be broken afterwards. He shouldn't have promised her that, then maybe she wouldn't have such foolish dreams. He should've known it was a silly thing to think, for people like them to live up there.

Shaking off these thoughts, he exited their 'home'—this hideout. He took a few steps out to get some 'fresh' air, only to be reminded that in a dump like this, 'fresh' was as equivalent to rotten fish. It didn't matter, not now. Just like Mikasa, he needed to recollect his thoughts, calm down. He didn't want to hurt her further.

However, he didn't have the chance to. Someone was around, he felt it. He felt a presence—and the sound of a twig snapping proved his judgement right. But before he could remove a knife from a hidden compartment of his attire, he looked up to see an awfully familiar face that had assured him that the presence meant no harm… probably.

"Why are you still fucking here?" Levi growled.

"Just making sure my nephew doesn't make my niece go against my orders."

Again, Kenny had showed his face—and even though this was the only second time seeing him, Levi already felt like punching him and that irksome smug look off his face.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, sorry it took so long to update. When I wrote the first chapter, I didn't really have the full and whole story in mind haha—I just had the concept. So, when writing the second chapter I kept changing it, and to say the least, this chapter is quite different from the first draft haha. ._.

For now, I'm still constructing the story, so there's that—but I have the general and main idea and ending more or less in mind now haha. So if I changed the first or second chapter a little, I hope you don't mind—and I'll be sure to tell you if I did change any aspects of it in the next chapter's Author's Note, so don't worry. For now, take this chapter—and I hope this chapter was okay.

**By the way, I changed Mikasa's undercover name from Mikasa Akira to Mikasa Azu; it just sounds nicer? idk haha**

_I'll try my best to update this once or twice a month._ It's a very important and stressful year for me so I apologise if I'm unable to update on time, especially since I'm also currently writing another fanfiction known as 'Love' (AruMika/EreMika love triangle :D self-promo haha…)

I truly hope this chapter is satisfying and actually alright. If not, do tell. Plus, my vocabulary and descriptions isn't that strong as compared to many people, at least in my opinion. So if I seem repetitive in the words I use, do alert me if it's annoying and I apologise.

**_Please Leave A Review! I would love to hear Your Thoughts as well as Criticism! :)_**


	3. Your Mission

**Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.**

* * *

"_Why are you still fucking here?" Levi growled._

_"Just making sure my nephew doesn't make my niece go against my orders."_

_Again, Kenny had showed his face—and even though this was the only second time seeing him, Levi already felt like punching him and that irksome smug look off his face._

* * *

After the little dispute that Mikasa had with Levi, she had rushed into her room, shut the door and collapsed onto her bed, with tears coursing down her cheeks which slowly began to drench the sheets.

_Why did I say that? Why did I remind him of Farlan and Isabel? Why did I…?_

Just the thought of those two had given her own heart grief, too. They were just as much as a family to her as they were to Levi after all.

She remembered how Isabel would pinch her cheeks and started to babble on and on how adorably cute she was at that time before proceeding to braid her hair. She remembered how Farlan taught her the game of chess like its necessary skills, knowledge and its tricks. But even then, she had never once beaten him in a game.

Hanging around them made her life as a child more… _fun and easier._ It made her feel more relaxed and happier, especially after her tiresome and strenuous training sessions with Kenny. Those were good times; good times that she had naively believed were going to last forever.

They were the only ones that ever befriended them—that ever got _so_ close to them. And yet, up till their last breath, they never knew who they really were. It was a tragedy, but perhaps in some twisted sense it was for the best for them to die, unaware and ignorant.

Now, Farlan and Isabel could only remain in her and Levi's memory and heart.

Slowly, Mikasa sat up and wiped away her tears. "Why am I even crying…?" She scolded herself frustratedly. She was the one who brought it up and lashed it out on Levi who she was aware that he only became exasperated at her because he didn't want the last person he considered as family to die by the hands of the surface.

She started to recall what Levi said earlier in their dispute—how he had called her dream foolish. As reluctant as Mikasa was to admit, she knew that deep down, what he said was _true._ However, her obstinacy refused to shut out and abandon that dream for good. A dream about living peacefully with an abundance of fresh air for her to breathe, with healthy bright green fields of grace and vibrant clusters of flowers for her to roam in before taking shade under a large tree that had leaves broad enough to block out the beautiful sunlight. That must be what a life full of Freedom felt like.

Whereas, there was the underground that felt so cramped and suffocating. The only source of light were from the torches lit around, hanging lanterns or something else man-made. Otherwise, there was barely any natural sunlight that shone through. There was also little to no greenery and the air always had some sort of unpleasant stench. Down here, people existed and survived. They didn't live.

Freedom was something that lived and danced in her imagination. Freedom _must _be life without being confined by something so insidiously corrupt ingrained in her genetics, right? A life without having bloodlust seemed like a step forward towards freedom.

She wished to escape this cage. She wished to live a _normal_ life, one that didn't involve killing or becoming a monster. She desired a normal life for both her and her brother without the need to worry about their bloodlust. And maybe it was because her desire was so strong, she couldn't bring herself to openly admit that such a dream was foolish, silly and childish even if deep down, she knew it was; It was conflicting. She still held onto what little hope she had, while Levi had lost it all. Albeit admittedly, there were moments that made her grip onto hope loosen and waver.

Even her bloodlust wasn't even considered _'normal'_, it was more of … unstable and abnormal than usual, as what Kenny described. Mikasa found it painfully humorous how the world had cursed her even more by gifting her a more uncontrollable and deranged bloodlust than normal.

Because of her unstable bloodlust, Mikasa wasn't allowed to take on any jobs on the surface. Kenny didn't want her to start a ruckus. Instead, he would normally handle surface-related business by himself or, if he was too busy, assign it to Levi. She handled most things underground… and if it involved killing, it _had_ to involve Levi to watch her.

She hated it. She hated being a burden to him. She hated being the runt of the pack.

The raven then heaved a heavy sigh. _I should apologise to him,_ she thought—but by no means did she plan to submit to him. She still wanted to do the mission. It wasn't just because of her dream, but she also didn't want Levi to face the consequences of Kenny if he had found out that he made Mikasa reject the mission.

If Kenny wanted her to go, she had to go. He was their boss, their clan leader (even if there was only three of them left) and he always had the final say.

She dried the last of her tears before slowly getting back up. However, just as she was about to leave her room, her ears had picked up on vicious sounding whispers that seemed about to erupt into shouts from below. Her curiosity and suspicion having been piqued, she took a glimpse out of her window—to which, only caused her eyes to widen at the commotion happening downstairs.

To say the least, it didn't take her long to rush downstairs to meet a pair of familiar faces.

* * *

Kenny cackled when Levi's expression had twisted into disgust upon witnessing his face once again. Perhaps that wasn't the right reaction that he should have had—but it was just too hard for him _not_ to feel amused whenever he'd see his nephew's pissed-off expressions. "Don't give me that look." He sneered before continuing, "I was right, wasn't I? Yer' tried to force the other brat to not take on the mission?"

"It was for her own good. _What were you fucking thinking?_ Sending her for a mission that is on the surface and involves royalty." Levi was on the verge of snapping, but kept his anger as quiet as he could, not wanting to draw in any unwanted attention. And as obvious as it was, he didn't seem to give two shits about what Kenny would do to him in response to his refusal. Granted, Kenny was intimidating in several aspects. However, Levi who unlike Mikasa, never really felt _too_ threatened by him—_just irritated._

Levi never understood Kenny. He could be ruthless in one moment, tolerable the next and sometimes even nice, though in a very shitty way. While Levi (reluctantly) admitted that there were moments where he was nice, those moments rapidly declined after the discovery of Mikasa's crazier bloodlust for whatever reason.

He wasn't the best role-model, though it wasn't as if he bothered trying to act as a parent, or a replacement parent for that matter. He was just a mentor to them. A merciless mentor at that. For one thing, he had nearly killed both him and Mikasa when they had once attempted to stray away from the bloody path that was forced upon them.

Admittedly, Kenny wasn't completely heartless… sort of. Levi had seen worse around the streets of the underground. The only times when things got _especially_ violent with him was either when they would _severely_ disobey him or during their strict and arduous training sessions which got harsher after each of their _first bloodlust outbreak_.

Levi didn't exactly love Kenny as his guardian or at all, the slightest idea of that made him feel nauseated. Yet, he didn't exactly resent him to the core either. What he did resent of him was the secrets he kept and most of all, the _blatant_ _lies_ he made.

If he didn't want their bloodlust to go mad, why did he make them continue this way of life of killing—even after their first outbreak?

Levi had once asked that, and his answer only infuriated him more—because it wasn't the answer he wanted, but an answer to avoid—an obvious lie. _"It is because yer' born an Ackerman. This is how we live. Plus, survival skills. It's for yer' own good, especially since we're living in the underground." Kenny had once responded._

'_For yer' own good.'_ He had said—and till now, Levi still called bullshit to that. What good was there in killing people?

He was more than sure was that if he and Mikasa weren't the children of Kuchel—to whom was his sister that he actually seemed to care for, he wouldn't have cared about their _'own good'_ and would've most likely let them rot to death.

Sure, the lives that he took were never exactly innocent—but in this messed up, shitty world, was there anyone who was innocent at all? An adult lying to their beloved partner. A child lying to his or her friends. Aren't those sinful things to do? Non-innocent acts?

Not to mention, there were more humane ways to handle these things. So why brutally strip them of their lives?

It didn't make sense. Then again, in Levi's eyes, the only sense Kenny had was bullshit nonsense.

So why? Why listen and obey him and not try to escape again?—that was because Kenny had always made sure that they didn't have a choice. He made sure that both Levi and Mikasa know the consequences of going against the 'Ackerman Nature'.

And what was his excuse for his controlling ways? Simple. It was the same old lie and lame excuse, '_for yer' own good'_.

"About to snap, yer' brat?" Kenny scoffed as he continued, "Do yer' not have faith in your own sister?" He suddenly asked.

"I never said that." Levi hissed, "It's dangerous. In fact, you're the one who forbade her from taking on surface-related missions in the first place. _You_ are the one who has no faith in her."

Instead of giving a verbal response, Kenny only gave a shrug that agitated Levi even more. "It's not like she has a problem with it." He remarked, before his head tilted towards the left upon sensing a familiar presence approaching them, "Why don't you ask her?"

Levi turned, only to see a shadowy figure that soon emerged from the dark, revealing to be Mikasa. He frowned. He didn't want her here, not now and not when he was in the middle of ensuring her dangerous, foolish dream wouldn't become a reality. "What are you doing here?" Mikasa queried Kenny with a certain caution, before forcing her eyes to make contact with Kenny's.

Unlike Levi, Mikasa felt intimidated by his presence for the most part. Since her bloodlust was more unstable, the trainings she had with him after her first outbreak were much more torturous—they were _excruciating_. They sometimes left her traumatised. If it weren't for Levi's comfort and assurance, she probably would've been mad by now. And because sinher bloodlust outbreak happened at a much earlier age—something that Kenny called abnormal, her trainings became harsher too soon, when she was still so young. _But it couldn't be helped, those harsh ways of discipline was what made her just a little bit more in control._

However as unfortunate as it was, no matter how relentless or useful those trainings were in containing Mikasa's bloodlust—it was never enough to stabilize it completely.

"Just checkin' that's all." He replied, "Yer' have no problem in doing this mission, do yer'?" He asked, and Mikasa shook her head. "No I don't."

"Mika—" Before Levi could finish his sentence, Kenny had immediately cut him off with a threat. "If yer' dare interfere anymore brat, I will make sure yer' won't even be able to go with her and replace yer' with Traute instead… or better, let her go _alone_."

Levi bit back his tongue, cursing under his breath. "Why can't you go, though?" Mikasa suddenly questioned. It didn't sound rude or threatening in any sort of way, just curiosity in her tone as well as some suspicion.

Kenny arched his brow and snorted, "Just because of yer' politeness—unlike some rude brat—I'll tell ya'" He started as he shot one last glare at Levi, which Levi didn't hesitated to reciprocate, before he continued, "I bet yer' haven't even read the documents I tossed at ya'. But never mind that. A quick summary of what this important customer wants is for y'all to get something from the royal family. Yer' see, apparently that castle has some secret lair that, supposedly, only the royalty knows about and can access. I want yer' to get close to the prince so yer' can hopefully find where that lair is. And once yer' do, inform me… y'all should know where to find an Ackerman, by now. We'll ransack the place and leave. Now, I would _loveeee_ to do this mission." He purposefully emphasised before continuing, "But unfortunately, the castle is too big for me alone or even for a small group to search… it'd waste too much time. And I have other shit to handle, more important shit. Plus, the security of that shitty place is especially higher now since that ball and nineteenth royal birthday gala shit is coming soon. Assassinating the Prince or kidnapping him is not an option… for several, annoying shitty reasons." He groaned, scratching the back of his head. Both Mikasa and Levi doubted he'd go into and elaborate on said _shitty reasons_. "The easiest, efficient and non-troublesome way to do this would be for Mikasa to go undercover, seduce, and find that secret lair. That way, less blood would be spilled, _probably._"

Levi flinched at the word _'seduce'_. By no means was he going to allow Mikasa go through with that sort of crap. He was surprised that Kenny even suggested that, given Kuchel's past. The idea of the prince ogling at Mikasa with filthy eyes left him unsettled. He had saw several pairs of filthy eyes before when he was younger, when he still lived with his mother. The image of those men with filthy eyes and corrupted minds were permanently and painfully etched into his memory, those scums who gave his mother more sadness and despair with each passing dreadful night.

"…Why suddenly get involve with royalty? Who is this customer?" Mikasa questioned once more, pushing her luck. Similar to Levi, she had found it hard to believe that a man like Kenny would've been so easily swayed by money or anything at all to get involved with royalty. Especially when he had not only openly expressed his resentment towards them, but also warned and even _threatened_ the both of them time and time again, to never get involved with them.

Much to Mikasa's unluckiness, it didn't seem like Kenny was in the mood to entertain her questions anymore. He gave a half-hearted shrug before switching the topic, "The ball is in a few months. Yer' have very little time to learn the royal customs… but a smart brat like yer' won't have any trouble… Traute will be coming later to help prepare you for the ba—."

"Who said I agreed to her going? Seduce the fucking prince? Are you kidding me?" Levi abruptly lashed out, and before he could have continued, Mikasa gripped his shoulder tightly, urging him to stop.

"That isn't your choice to make…" She murmured quietly as her obsidian orbs took a brief glance at Levi before she continued, "Neither is it mine." She said as her eyes now averted her gaze from Levi and to Kenny who gave a nod.

"Listen to yer' sister. She's right." He shrugged just slightly before he turned around and began to walk away, towards the shadows. "Now or later, brat. Don't make me have to force yer'. We wouldn't like that now, would we?"

* * *

After Kenny left, neither Levi nor Mikasa made any attempt of chasing after him. It would be useless and a waste of energy for them to chase a mad-man like him who was unwilling to give any actual answers.

As the siblings went back into their home, silence had engulfed them. Well, that was until younger raven out of the two had decided to speak. "Levi. I know you're worried—"

"_Worried?_ I—"

"Listen to me." Mikasa sharply interrupted. "I know you're worried. But it'll be fine. I won't lose control or do anything reckless, I promise… and it's not like I will have to engage in any violence up there anyway. Besides, you'll be there, right?" She reasoned.

Levi sighed and ran his hand through his hair, still unconvinced. "…Mikasa, What if—"

"There will be no what ifs." She said, cutting him off before proceeding to speak, "and it's not like we—…it's not like _I _have a choice." She corrected quickly, remembering that this mission was only compulsory for her, and not him. But of course, it wasn't like Levi would want to let his sister venture up to the surface, alone. "Kenny always gets what he wants in his own way. Now or later." She reminded.

"…don't have a choice, huh?" Levi murmured under his breath, scoffing slightly. _That's right, we never had a choice._ He thought.

"…You know," He spoke, and suddenly Mikasa found him and his tone fragile, "…that dream is only going to be temporary. You're not going to be able to stay on the surface forever. It's a foolish th—"

"I know." Mikasa responded softly. She was already fully aware of _that_. "That's okay. Even if it's just for a little while, it's okay."

"…You can't even live _'normally'_ while you're up there, you're acting as a princess. People are still going to treat you differently. People are going to watch your every move."

"I know." She repeated, "That's okay. I… just want to go above, to breathe in the fresh air… to see the sky one more time...but more importantly, we _have _to complete the mission."

"…You might have to seduce the prince." Levi grumbled, the idea of that just aggravated him. He didn't like it.

"That's not going to happen." Mikasa assured. Truth be told, Levi wasn't the only one who was revolted by that idea. But unlike him, she preferred to not be so open about her disgust or objection in front of Kenny. "I won't let him get too close to me. Besides, if he dares to even touch me in that sort of way, I'd probably commit a national crime before you get your chance to kill him." She joked light-heartedly, "And I'm sure Kenny wouldn't want that. All he wants is the location of this _'secret lair'_. I don't think he cares how we do it as long as no blood is spilled and ensure that no chaos would erupt."

There was another momentary silence. Levi bit his lip, closed his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. _Now or later, huh?_ He thought.

And finally, he resigned. "Fine…but if you feel like you're about to snap, tell me, alright? Then we'll retreat. I can't risk you having a bloodlust outbreak up there… Is that a deal?"

Mikasa nodded, relieved that he gave in. Who knows what would have happened to him if he had continued to rebel against Kenny? She wasn't willing to find out.

"Alright… I won't let that happen though… and also…" She trailed off briefly as her tone became softer. "…I'm sorry. About earlier."

Her apology caught Levi by surprise. When she reached her teenage years, it became rare for her to be the first one to apologise if she felt like it wasn't her who was in the wrong. Then again, it was also rare for Levi to be the first to apologise as well if they ever fought, since he wasn't the best at handling, mediating or even approaching the awkwardness of the situation after. How they resolved their quarrels was beyond his understanding.

The the guilt behind her apologetic eyes that Levi saw was enough of an explanation as to why apologised first. As a result, his own eyes softened in a brotherly manner, before shaking his head as he apologised sincerely in return, "It's okay. We both lost our temper… I'm sorry as well."

The atmosphere between them still felt… heavy. And again, there was another moment of silence between them until Levi had coughed abruptly, causing the raven to tilt her head in confusion and wear a look of concern.

"…Since when did you become so tall? Little gloomy brat." Levi suddenly commented after he looked up towards her. Time flew by too fast, he remembered how little his sister once was, and now she was taller than him. There was no hiding the fact that that aspect of Mikasa did annoy him, especially when she was supposed to be the younger one_._

Though, he hoped that his out-of-place comment would lighten the heavy mood, considering she had always found the aspect of their height difference funny; Levi found it shitty.

However, Mikasa only rolled her eyes before giving him a nudge, "Shut up, shortass." She taunted back, with a small, soft laugh that followed after.

…

The following day, Traute came and it was time for Mikasa's _'royal'_ training to start.

* * *

Time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, March 30th came—Prince Eren Jaeger's birthday. And ironically, everyone at his grand celebration was having a joyous time… _everyone but him._

The birthday boy had been sitting down on his throne wearily, staring blankly at the Princesses and other wealthy aristocrats or close partners make chit-chat below. He could have joined them. He could have made an effort to stand up, walk down the few steps upon descending from his throne and take part in his birthday celebration. But he didn't want to. He knew engaging in a conversation with any of them would be boring or rather, _repetitive._

After all, they were all here for _one thing._

"It's an honour to meet you, Prince Eren of Paradis." A princess greeted before bowing politely towards the prince after making her entrance into the room. Her voice seemed to have snapped the prince out of his daze, albeit it wasn't enough to wipe that exhausted expression off his face. Though, before Eren could return her courtesy, he noticed how she began to move closer towards him—too close.

_Ah, this again._ Eren thought, already guessing what she was attempting to do; she wouldn't be the first one.

The princess shifted closer, wearing one of those 'innocent' smiles that meant anything but innocence or naivety. "I hope we can get along." She said, before bowing down once again—the only difference was that she bowed lower, and was close enough to block Eren of his full vision with her exposed cleavage thanks to her low-cut garment.

Unfortunately for her, he was anything _but_ interested. He looked away instantly, closing his eyes shut as he gave a simple nod. "Yeah." Eren murmured with a disinterested, and even disgusted tone. This shocked the princess, even annoyed her due to her failed attempt of enticing him for… things and other reasons.

Her smile remained forced and she gave a soft laugh that meant anything but joy before she turned, walking off. And even with her back turned, Eren could tell that that 'innocent' smile of hers twisted into a scornful scowl.

Armin who had just watched that entire scene unfolded before him heaved a heavy sigh. He would've gone up there to keep him company—but commoners like him who had no status or wealth weren't allowed to approach him at his throne, even if they worked for the royal. The only exceptions were the advisors.

Besides, Armin knew that Eren wouldn't come down from his throne, considering if he did, he would instantly turn into a magnet, surrounded by the wealthy that he despised and had claimed them to be as equal as the suckerfish in the pond.

Plus, it was a rule that the guests could pay a brief visit to him at his throne _only once_, and the next time they could even initiate an actual conversation with him would be when he would finally descend down from his throne, and actually take part in his own birthday celebration. With such a rule implemented, Eren would definitely prefer sitting there the whole day, away from _them_.

Armin knew the likes of Eren—he knew that the only time he would get off of his throne would be when the party would be over or when his advisors would probably have to threaten or drag him down if he had planned to sit there the whole night.

"Stubborn little rascal isn't he?" A voice laughed from Armin's behind, an arm then abruptly wrapping around his neck. The blonde, startled, instinctively tensed his shoulders until he realised that it was just Hanji—who seemed a little tipsy, then again she always seemed drunk.

"Those pesky advisors might force me to drag him down here." She groaned.

"Well, he listens to you and not them." Armin sighed softly, "And they wouldn't send me since he would probably make me play another game of hide and seek with him..."

Hanji laughed at his joke towards the end, but Armin didn't really find it that funny since he knew that that was a fact… and that he would probably get into major trouble if that were to happen. "Mm… but you know, I really hope he does find someone special here tonight." Hanji commented truthfully, "It doesn't even have to be someone he wants to be romantic with…just someone that could make him ease up about his revenge plot or whatever. Poor boy, he doesn't realise how revenge can blind and corrupt a soul. It'd be a miracle if someone could actually make him forget about his revenge, even if it's just for a second."

"Yeah… his revenge. But doesn't… _everyone _want the Ackermans dead anyway?" Armin responded. Admittedly, he did agree with what Hanji had said—how Eren was so lost in his revenge, that one day it was going to consume him whole. At the same time, most people didn't think that that was a bad thing, since his revenge was directed at that one bloody clan that everyone wanted gone and dead. They were the only murderous clan that couldn't be caught and eradicated by the guards. _So… it wasn't necessarily a bad or unneeded sort of revenge plot … was it?_

Hanji didn't say anything for a while, leading the blonde to think he said something he shouldn't have. But before his anxiousness could have kicked in, she had given him a calm smile with curious eyes and inquired, "Do _you_ want them dead?"

Armin blinked for a while, did Hanji really just asked him that? What kind of question was that in the first place? A trick question? Of course, his answer was—

"_Announcing, Princess Mikasa Azu of Hizuru, representing the East Sea._" The Announcer called, cutting off Armin's thoughts before he could have voiced them. And now, his focus—and even Hanji's—were directed at the princess who had just entered the ball. It wasn't her name that had caught their or anyone else's attention, but rather her place of origin.

All eyes were quick to turn towards her, nobody had anticipated that someone from the East Sea region would attend such an event—especially after going into isolation for _so_ long. Those eyes widened in shock, and even puzzlement when they saw what Mikasa was wearing, it was nothing that they've seen before. It looked foreign.

While Paradis's ball and matchmaking tradition was well-known to several nations before the war and before the whole of East Sea's isolation, and that all were welcome as long as they weren't publicly declared as an enemy, no one could've anticipate someone from the East Sea to appear.

Even the advisors who received a letter –which Kenny fabricated—that stated that they'd be attending the Prince's ball, hadn't actually expected for the someone from the East Sea region to actually show up. But, they were quick to grin and gleam in greed—after all, according to Kenny's letter, they had all the rich minerals and resources that they wanted. And if the she and the Prince had hit it off, it would be greatly beneficial _for them._

As the raven began her walk towards the Prince's throne to greet him, she heard some whispers, she saw eyes that were either intrigued by her entrance or were filled with mockery and ridicule for the _peculiar _attire she chose to wear—a Kimono. A strikingly dark red Kimono with flowery patterns that mostly scattered below her kimono, to which came in many shades of light pink, along with a plain dark purple obi wrapped tightly around her waist. Along with her attire, her hair was done in a neat braided bun, with a red rose hair ornament with red gems hanging on a golden-coloured string that went with her clothes—though, her choice of footwear did make many question… things. Socks with a type of wooden sandals that seemed out of place for such a formal event. Untypical and unexpected, to say the least.

But it didn't bother Mikasa, who only carried herself with utmost pride as she strode towards the throne. Upon reaching there, she bowed to the prince politely before her gaze met his. And for the first time in a long while since this celebration started, he didn't look away from those pair of obsidian orbs—his eyes only widened. _Not_ because he felt an attraction, but rather just like everyone, he was surprised that someone from the East Sea was standing right before him.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Prince Eren." Mikasa smiled—but unlike the princess who had greeted him before her, this smile was different. This smile was perfected in her trainings with Traute. This smile looked real, appeared genuine even.

And this smile, was only a little part of the new mask she wore.

* * *

**Author's Note:** sorry this took so long! And sorry that this is so long T-T. _Originally,_ I had planned to add Traute's and Mikasa's training in here but I think if I did this would hit above 5000-6000 words which I feel would be too… wordy. I'll probably add that in the next chapter. Plus, I really wanted to make Eren's and Mikasa's first meeting in this chapter. On another note, I hope this wasn't bad :/.

**Also yes, Mikasa's wearing a kimono to the ball, the reason why she's wearing that and not some grand dress would be explained next chapter, the reason isn't that dramatic though haha—but I do hope this doesn't appear disrespectful and whatnot.**

**Adding on, not sure if i had mentioned this before but this _updates once every month_ (due to my busy life T-T i stg exams are sad man; so if i upload at a later date i apologise.)**

**_Please Leave A Comment/Review! I would love to hear your thoughts and places where I can improve ._**


	4. The Ball Fiasco

**Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.**

* * *

_"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Prince Eren." Mikasa smiled—but unlike the Princess who had greeted him before her, this smile was different. This smile was perfected in her trainings with Traute. This smile looked real, appeared genuine even._

_And this smile, was only a little part of the new mask she wore._

* * *

Once she had finished greeting the Prince, Mikasa descended down the steps, finding herself back on the ground where the eyes of most of the guests were still glued onto her, observing her closely, looking at her as if she was a foreign land; which was arguably true. Who'd have expected that someone from a land, a region whom isolated and had cut off their ties a long time ago after the war, to finally show up?

There was no doubt Mikasa disliked the position that she was currently in. She wasn't used to this sort of attention. She wasn't used to having all these eyes focused on her when all her life she had been told to hide and live in the shadows. It was uncomfortable. But she had no choice but to put up with it, to put on a different type of mask; an act to fool everyone. To fool the Prince. There was absolutely no room for error.

She made sure to carry herself with the utmost pride and elegance, she made sure every step that she took was gracious and lady-like, just as how Traute taught her during the few months she had for preparation. Although, one could only wonder if those few months of training were even comparable to the years of etiquette and other vital trainings taught to the other nobles and dignified guests.

Traute had been a long-time ally of Kenny's. She was the one who taught Mikasa the basics of being a royal before her departure. At first, Mikasa had been uncertain with regards to Traute becoming her teacher for mastering etiquette and learning some politics (even if she was a better option than Kenny, for obvious reasons), she was soon proven wrong. Unknown to the youngest Ackerman until then, Traute was apparently from a well-off family once upon a time. _Was._ How she ended up working with Kenny and becoming his ally was still an utter mystery to her.

However, despite being a long-time ally of his, she did _not _know that he was an Ackerman. She knew Kenny was a violent man, she knew that he had murdered people and she also knew that his niece and nephew were trained to do so too.

But still, she only knew him as _Kenny the Ripper_ which had been his other identity. Just like the Ackermans, The Ripper was both infamous underground and on the surface. The only difference was that as time went by, The Ripper turned into a myth, story and legend to scare the surface children from venturing underground. Whether his existence was more than just fiction was unknown to many on the surface, given the fact that Kenny hadn't been on the surface for quite a while… as _The Ripper_. He went to the surface as an Ackerman more often than The Ripper, which probably resulted in the townsfolk to doubt his existence and forgotten his face.

And while the people of the underground was aware that The Ripper existed outside of the world of fiction, commotion about him eventually died down when Kenny used his identity of an Ackerman more frequently.

Mikasa wondered why someone like Kenny needed Traute, it wasn't as if he had issues handling nor settling anything before. But at this point, questioning him would be pointless, especially when almost all his answers were practically irrelevant to her questions.

Traute used to visit them every now and then. But ever since Kenny found out Mikasa's bloodlust was unstable, her visits lessened drastically and would only come by if he permitted it. He didn't want her finding out after all. How and why Traute was so loyal to Kenny that she'd head his every order without much question was beyond Mikasa.

Though for the next few months that they had, under Kenny's orders, Traute began to frequent their hideout more often to ensure that Mikasa was learning and revising the material that Kenny gave. There was no way he'd let Mikasa to attend the ball without prior knowledge about some historical aspects of her _'homeland'_. And when she asked how Kenny had gotten his hands on this material, Traute only shrugged and said she didn't know, but made a comment that he had probably stolen them from some old historian's home.

She taught Mikasa the history of the East Sea, particularly, _Hizuru_—the place where she had to act that she was its next heir. She also taught her the traditions and their culture; whatever that was in that book. While she tutored Mikasa, Levi just stood in the corner and listened attentively—it was good for him to know these anyway, especially if he was attending the event as her guard that was deployed to watch over her.

One day in the midst of Mikasa lesson, she couldn't help but ask, "If these people exist, wouldn't the actual ruler of that land attend?"

Traute shook her head and explained, "Ever since the first war a long time ago, the countries in the East Sea region began to isolate themselves, Hizuru included. Nobody knows what happened to them, some presumed that they're dead, extinct even since it was said that the war left them and their land in shambles, many deaths too. And it's not like Paradis or any other nation would want to go visit their area—it's rumoured that in recent years, the journey there is dangerous with the on and off raging sea-storms. Paradis's current boats won't make the journey. And why would they? No one knows the value of that place or if it ever recovered from the destruction brought unto them by the war or if a famine had happened and wiped out the entirety of the population. Why would anyone want to take a gamble and risk their resources to only discover a valueless island with corpses? Paradis and the rest of the world are more or less fine without them, anyway."

"Then how am _I_ supposed to pass off as Oriental royalty?" Mikasa frowned. "Would they even want to associate with the likes of one?"

"Kenny wrote a fake letter which stated that the people of the East Sea wish to reconnect with the rest of the world, and feel that attending Paradis's Prince's nineteenth birthday would be a good place to start with their Empress-to-be from Hizuru, one of the more powerful nations in the East Sea region." Traute began to explain, "He also lied saying that the East Sea region has valuable resources, like good farming lands, perfect for food resources and of course, gold and many other things… knowing how greedy the royal council is, and the fact that Hizuru didn't exactly make enemies with Paradis at the end of the war, I'm sure you'll be welcomed. And don't worry about your arrival, the docks will be too full of ships from other islands for them to notice a missing Oriental boat."

"…Then how'd they know if I'm even one of the people from the East Sea? That I'm the _Princess of Hizuru_? And I'm not some fraud?" It was clear to Traute that she was paranoid. Mikasa rarely had any missions that required her to act this much, in front of such an enormous crowd.

Traute went silent for a moment before sighing, "They'll know. Kenny has it all planned and prepared." She said this in hopes of reassuring Mikasa, and perhaps to get her to stop questioning things that she couldn't answer. Yet, it made her feel uneasy—maybe it was just her, but she felt that Kenny wasn't the only one that had secrets to hide.

"…But, _if_ they do interrogate you and suspect your identity…" Traute suddenly spoke, breaking the raven out of her thoughts, "_You can show…_"

Mikasa's thoughts were quick to be broken off as she soon found herself swarmed by many people who were eager to hear her answers to their questions. Some of their questions were rather rude and offensive. It was clear to her that she was an unwelcomed guest to some.

"Why is the East Sea people finally opening up huh? Are your folks running out of resources?" An aristocrat ridiculed.

"I didn't know they had a Princess! And what's this… odd and bizarre outfit you're wearing? Are you sure it's something suited for a royal? Or just loose cloth wrapped tightly with a ribbon?" One of the Princesses mocked, without shame.

"Your—"

Before Mikasa could've attempt to answer any of the questions they bombarded her with, Levi disembarked from the shadows where he hid, and stepped in. "You're invading her personal space." He said, albeit a little coldly.

"And who are you little boy?" An aristocrat scoffed.

"He is my guard." Mikasa answered calmly before Levi could. She took a confident step forward. "I understand all of your concerns, but I assure you that as the Princess of Hizuru and as the person representing the people from the East Sea, we mean no harm and that we wish to reconnect with the rest of the world." She said before bowing her head slightly in respect, "I hope to establish good relationships with all of you."

Despite Mikasa's little eloquent speech, the aristocrat wasn't satisfied. He was suspicious, and if anything, a snob who looked down on her people. "You people of the East Sea choose to isolate yourself, and then dare think that—"

"_Enough_." Another voice emerged from the crowd, who gripped onto the aristocrat's shoulder tightly. "I'd appreciate if you wouldn't be rude to our guests, sir. All are welcome as long as they aren't enemies declared by Paradis. If you continue, I'd have no choice but to kick you out for your lack of respect… should someone of your position really act all high and mighty to a _royal_? Are you trying to wage another war?" A certain pony-tailed brunette spoke, it was Hanji. The aristocrat having been put back in his place by her was at a loss for words and found himself to be in a tight spot, caught in an embarrassing situation where he just had to be talked down by her. _"Tsk."_ He clicked his tongue, before pushing Hanji's hand away and stormed off, clearly enraged at the side she took; a pathetic but successful attempt to escape the situation.

The crowd that surrounded Mikasa gradually dispersed upon Hanji's arrival, and the insulting terms that was used on Mikasa came to a halt. It was evident to both the Ackermans that no one really wanted to get on the bad side of this woman; who they knew was one of Prince Eren's most trusted advisors.

"Sorry for that, your highness," Hanji chuckled lightly and gave a polite bow. "Please excuse them, they're only cautious because it's the first time in many years since we last spoke to anyone from the East Sea region."

Mikasa shook her head, if anything she was relieved. "It's fine." She assured, gesturing for Hanji to raise her head, "If anything, thank you, Miss…"

"It's Hanji!" She introduced, a little bubblier than what Mikasa had anticipated for an advisor's introduction. "Just call me that, there's no need for formalities when addressing someone like me. Ah! That's right. I'm one of Prince Eren's advisors, and I also work with some experiments to further the nation's progress." She smiled, "I hope you enjoy your stay here. I'm sure Prince Eren is happy to have you here, and so is the whole of Paradis. After all, it's been a while since… Hizuru, correct?" Mikasa nodded and she proceeded, "Since Hizuru last contacted us. It's an honour having their Princess here." She chuckled, before her eyes found themselves looking over to the shorter male standing by her side. "And you too." She added on cheerfully, and Levi merely responded with a nod.

"Well. I hope you enjoy the ball." Hanji continued before Mikasa could say a word, "The Prince will be down any moment." The raven watched her eyes, appearing a little annoyed, averting her gaze towards Eren, who was still stuck on his throne wearing a rather dreary and bored look. "I'll take my leave." She bowed once more and then made her way towards Eren for what Mikasa assumed was for him to finally socialise.

Once she was far away enough, Levi clicked his tongue in agitation. "I knew everyone here would be a snob." He scoffed, eyes narrowing in frustration as he recalled the profanities he heard some of the nobles called his sister under their stinky, disgusting breath.

"I don't think everyone is… she seems nice." She murmured, referring to the lively woman. Although to some extent she did agree with Levi.

"_For now_." Levi added on, to which Mikasa couldn't help but give a little eye-roll. "You're just mad that someone called you a _'little boy'_." She smirked.

"I didn't ask for your opinion." He grumbled before shooting her a brief glare, "On another note, you pulled it off. Take a look at the Prince, he's glancing towards you every now and then. You've caught his interest, without the need to do anything… _obscene_." The last word rolled off his tongue bitterly, and it didn't go by unnoticed by Mikasa who decided to not continue on that subject; because she sure as hell didn't plan to do any seducing.

"I… wouldn't say _interest_." The raven opposed, as her eyes fixated on that nice advisor who approached the Prince that stubbornly remained seated on his throne, watching her urge him to go down and socialize. Though from afar, Mikasa could tell he was reluctant to do so. "I just caught him by surprise. Everyone's looking towards me anyway…" A quick scan of her surroundings and she could confirm that there were still quite a number of people that eyed her curiously, but were a little nervous to approach her after Hanji's interference when things had nearly gone out of hand.

"We should disperse." Mikasa decided, "You can go and try to get any extra information about this place. As a Princess, I should be socializing." She sighed, it seemed that the Prince wasn't the only one reluctant to mix around.

"Wait," Levi stopped her before she could take her first step, "Before you go… you're... feeling okay, are you?" He asked, and there was this familiar concern in his tone. Even if his plain expression said otherwise, she knew he was worried of her bloodlust breaking out. While she appreciated his concerns, she didn't want to be reminded of that… especially when a lot was resting on her shoulders now.

"Yes… Yes, I am." Mikasa said, casting him one last reassuring look before it faded into a friendly smile as she emerged away from the shadows and into the crowd. It was time to socialise.

* * *

Eren had finally unglued himself from his throne to interact with his guests after Hanji's continuous, unyielding persistence. The moment he stepped onto the ballroom's ground, he was immediately swarmed by the guests—specifically the woman who wanted his heart or rather, Paradis's riches.

Now, he was reminded why he hated today. This wasn't how he wanted to celebrate his birthday. He rather spend his time up on the hill with his close friend, Armin, where they would talk and talk till the sun set. He didn't want to be in this room full of strangers that he was obligated to entertain and be reminded that he was obligated to marry one of them.

Eren had glanced at Mikasa quite a number of times. Any normal person would see this as him having an interest in her, in a romantic sense… but that was far from the truth. Just as Mikasa had predicted, he was just caught by surprise. Not to mention, the _'dress'_ that Mikasa wore was definitely foreign to many, but to Eren its uniqueness didn't mean it was a bad thing.

Perhaps her intentions were pure; to establish good relationships… or—like all these other woman— she planned to slither her way into the brunette's heart so she and her nation could have a share of his country's goods. _Though in reality, Eren's assumptions of Mikasa's intentions was far from the truth._

Here, Eren didn't know who to trust. Everyone seemed to have double intentions. He was wary of everyone.

Mikasa and Eren found themselves entertaining and interacting with the guests, they were yet to speak to each other. While Eren felt an internal dread about this entire event (but still forced a smile; acting interested in the conversations he was currently engaged in), Mikasa was relieved that the questions she received weren't that rude anymore.

While Kenny had given her some information about Eren, there were still many things she was clueless about him such as his likes and his dislikes. And she couldn't afford any carelessness that would land her on his bad side.

For one thing, she noticed a Princess trying to seduce the Prince. She had emerged from the crowd and judging by her posture and the way that she shot the Prince with a look meant to entice, it was easy to tell she was trying to win the Prince's heart or at least attention through those _obscene _methods, as what Levi would describe. Much to her surprise, the brunette was anything _but _interested. He looked away from her instantly. As he did, she saw his expression twisting into something full of disgust. This just meant that Kenny's suggestion of seducing the Prince wasn't going to work… which was a good thing, in Mikasa's case.

Though, it'd just make things harder. From what Mikasa noticed, she made the judgement that he wasn't interested in marriage or even associating with any of these guests on a personal level. _How am I going to gain his trust?_ She pondered.

Other than that, Mikasa had also noticed a particular blonde who had been looking at Eren, and even her, for quite a while. He didn't seem like an aristocrat, he wasn't wearing anything over-the-top fancy unlike the many noble guests that wore clothes and accessories that showed off their riches and rank in society. Moreover, he didn't have the _'aristocrat'_ or _'royal'_ aura around him. Mikasa assumed he was either an advisor, or a staff member.

Then, she remembered the information Kenny had given to her… it mentioned something that the Prince had a close friend, who was blonde with blue eyes. He had fit the physical description perfectly, but one could never be so sure.

Mikasa glimpsed over to the blonde, who she had caught red handed looking right at her, to then avoid her gaze anxiously when she noticed. She didn't think much of it, probably another curious soul. But, if he was Eren's close friend, it'd benefit her a lot if she could extract the slightest vital information about the Prince from him. And who knows? Maybe he knew the location of this _'secret lair'_ that Kenny wanted.

Mikasa proceeded to politely excuse herself from the conversation, before making her way towards the blonde, who still looked away. "Hello." Mikasa greeted, startling the blonde who turned to her direction hesitantly. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

* * *

After Mikasa and Levi had gone their separated ways, Levi went over to a secluded corner, scanning the ballroom. All the other Princesses' guards were socializing with one another, most of them were chugging down shit-tons of beer and wine, something that Levi preferred to be excluded from.

He knew that this castle's security was high. The outside, from what he observed, was well-guarded, and he was sure there were some of the castle's guards camouflaged within the crowd as guests or regular staff members, waiting to strike if he needed.

He had a brief moment of contemplation, if he should leave the ballroom and sneak away to the other parts of this castle. If luck was on his side, he would be able to find this secret lair… or at least get some clues of its locations. Levi had enough confidence in his abilities to not get caught. The only thing stopping him from departing on his secret search was Mikasa. Admittedly, she didn't seem like she was on the verge of going on a deranged rampage, but he couldn't help but worry. The worst things always happen when one least expects it after all, at least that's what Levi thought.

"_Hey!_ What are you doing all alone here?" A familiar voice called out. Levi looked up to see that four-eyed brunette who was approaching Levi, wearing an awfully bright smile. _Just great, _He thought. _I have to talk to people._

"The Princess wished to talk to the guests alone, and I'd preferably not want to… associate myself with those drunkards." Levi stated bluntly, referring to the other guards who were at another corner, seeming to be ranting and raving about something that he couldn't care less about.

"That's rare. You know, Paradis's wine is great! You shouldn't pass on the chance… Oh, or are you a light-weight?" She teased. Levi didn't understand how she could act so… friendly, with a stranger. Perhaps she was drunk. He didn't know, nor could he care.

"I'm not a light-weight. I just prefer not to indulge in alcohol. I came here to watch over the Princess, not to get intoxicated and abandon my duties."

"My, My how responsible!" She gleamed, strangely sounding like a proud mother. "You needn't worry, this palace is well-guarded, especially with the famous Erwin Smith being in charge of the guards! Trust me, he's strong. He's well-known for his strength and has quite a reputation in many countries." Levi gave a nod of acknowledgement as he replied, "I wasn't aware. Good to know." _But of course, Levi knew. _He knew who Erwin was. It was written in the documents that Kenny threw at their faces back in the alley. But he couldn't let her know that.

Levi thought that the conversation between her and himself would end by then, and that she would skip over to her next victims to chitter-chatter. But he was wrong, so wrong. "Hm… on another note, I cannot help but notice Princess Mikasa's unique facial features. We don't have much information about Orientals after the first war, but we do know that people from different countries do have distinct features… with that in mind, I cannot help but wonder, Mr. Guard, why don't you share any of those unique features?" She queried, seeming suspicious.

It appeared like she had Levi cornered, in a tough spot with her question… except, as unfortunate as it was for her, he had already anticipated this, and had already came out with a sob-story to excuse himself. _She is a sharp women_, Levi thought, before making a mental note to be more cautious around her.

"First of all, it's Levi. Just Levi." He responded calmly. "As you should know, during the first war, many countries sent spies, or went to other enemy countries to attack. My family was one of those who went to the East Sea parts. They were captured and then imprisoned. But after the first war, the Emperor's son later came into power. Once he was crowned Emperor, unlike his father, he decided to free them for one condition, that they serve the royal family. So, they obliged. From what I've heard, he was a generous Emperor. He didn't mind sending us back to our homeland if we served for a particular period of time. But as you know, overtime, the seas became more treacherous and dangerous. So my family decided not to leave, since our safe return was uncertain. And since I was born into the family, I am obligated to walk the same path." He sighed, his expression unchanging as he watched the woman's eyes widen with curiosity.

"Then how did you manage to sail here?" She inquired.

"There are particular seasons or rather, times where the sea is at ease." He started before he continued to elaborate his next string of lies, "If I choose to leave the next week, I would be dead. Whereas, if I choose to leave in two weeks, I'd have a safer chance of returning. The sea around our regions is still treacherous, you all should be aware of it's on and off storms. Though, we have the resources to make most of our ships better withstand the outrageous tides and storms."

Hanji raised a brow, "If that's the case, Levi, then why don't you and your family sail back to your homeland during the _'safe periods'_? You make it sound like it's a dread working there."

Levi scoffed, "I'm not sure about my family, but _I wouldn't_. Princess Mikasa, is like family to me. Both our parents were always busy with their duties, as a result we both grew close, like brother and sister. For one thing, she's a very humble person, and not a shitty snob who looks down on people that believe to be beneath." Levi remarked, causing Hanji to laugh a little at the minor vulgarity he used. It seemed like she had bought his story, surprisingly enough.

"Did that aristocrat really bother you? Ah, no matter. You seem like a genuine person, I believe your words based on my woman's intuition!" She laughed in a jokingly manner, before her tone abruptly grew solemn. "I can tell you really care about the Princess, there's this protective and tensed aura around you. Hence, I trust your words… You have every right to be wary about us, but so do we." She murmured, before shooting him a look meant to intimidate. "So, I do hope your people aren't planning anything against us."

Levi stared at Hanji for a few moments. _She's sharp, alright. But not enough to guess my true identity_, Levi thought before heaving out a heavy sigh, "Of course, our intentions are genuine. We aren't out here to wage war for some shitty revenge."

Hanji then parted her lips, as if to say more… until, she heard a loud shout that erupted, reverberating around the ballroom.

* * *

"Hello." Mikasa greeted, startling the blonde who turned to her direction hesitantly. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

The blonde that Mikasa had approached began to stutter inarticulate words that she wasn't able to interpret. Regardless, she remained patient with him as she continued, "I cannot help but notice that you kept looking towards my direction, at least more than the others here. I presume you're one of the advisors here? Since I saw you talking to… Hanji? Was it?" Despite her smile, it didn't seem to put him at ease. "…Well, I would love to clear up any misunderstandings or questions you have about me... Mr…?"

It took a while, but Armin managed to find his voice. Though, he still stuttered in his speech as he bowed down to greet her. "I-It's Armin. Armin Arlert… I… I'm not an advisor here. I… work as the gardener and I'm… H-Hanji's apprentice for her s-science stuff… I didn't mean to look like a creep, your highness, I…uh…" Mikasa could tell from the way his hands trembled, how he still remained bowing even after greeting her as if to avoid eye contact and the way he'd fumble with his words that he was undeniably nervous around her presence. From what information he said out, Mikasa could confirm her assumptions that he was Prince Eren's close friend. After all, normally a gardener, or at least someone who wasn't an advisor or a person of high-status, wouldn't be at parties like this. Unless, he had the Prince's approval, or at least have some sort of close connections with him.

"It's okay." Mikasa assured, before gesturing him to raise his head and continued in a soothing tone, "I understand why all eyes would be on me anyway. And you need not fret, I'm not angry nor disgusted."

Armin tentatively lifted his head and gave a slight nod, though the eye contact he made with her didn't last long, as he looked away, almost as if her presence was overwhelming. Mikasa assumed he wasn't used to talking to people so high up and feared the consequences should he mess up a conversation in anyway with a royal, which was why he averted his gaze away from her.

In all honesty, he was just intimidated by Mikasa, _very _intimidated for several reasons. However, before Mikasa could say anything else to soothe him, she was cut off by a sudden loud shout that echoed around the room. _"Get off of me!" _Someone yelled.

Now, everyone's eyes were no longer glued to Mikasa, but rather to the source of the shout—and much to Mikasa's surprise, it was the Prince himself. It seemed like he had had enough with one of the Princess's… little suggestive and flirtatious ways.

He had shoved her off when she had forcefully pressed her chest against him, before making his way out of the mass of woman that surrounded him. One would think that the Prince would've enjoyed himself in his little harem, especially when he had the power to select any one of them for marriage if they had hit it off… but that wasn't the case for this particular emerald-eyed heir.

"_Prince Eren!_ Have some manners to our guests! How dare you raise your voice at them?!" One of his advisors reprimanded. Mikasa would've thought that he wouldn't have the guts to continue making a scene, but he had proven her wrong. "Then why don't you tell _HER_ to stop exposing herself to me?!"

"Prince Eren!" He snapped. "How dare _YOU_ accuse a woman of high status, _a Princess_, of doing that! They have dignity! They wouldn't stoop to such low methods! Stop acting like a brat and act like a responsible ruler young man!"

Now, whispers began to erupt, and the things some people began to gossip was anything but good. To make things worse, the Princess who attempted to seduce him became teary eyed as she cried out, "How dare you soil my reputation! I just… I was just being friendly!"

It was ironic, how everyone seemed to believe the Princess more than the Prince of Paradis, especially since they were on his country. "She's lying!" Eren bellowed, receiving even more glares from his advisors. "Stop making a fool of Paradis and yourself!"

Just like that, they went back and forth, with the Prince who continued with his accusation of the Princess who attempted seducing him. It was even more ironic that the other Princesses who had witnessed it, said nothing about it. Well, Mikasa was no better—she chose to remain silent as well. She would have stood up for him, though. If she did, she would probably be able to gain his trust, and would be one step closer into completing her mission. _But then again, Kenny had taught her to always wait—wait for the right opportunity to seize your prey._

The argument grew more heated, and soon enough she saw Hanji stepping in to the Prince's defence. She was different from the other advisors, Mikasa could tell. "Is he always like this?" She suddenly asked out loud, before taking a glance towards the blonde, who wore a worried and troubled expression, and it seemed like he was about to interfere in the argument… until Mikasa's question stopped him. For one reason or another, Armin could tell she wasn't referring to Eren being a liar, but rather, his rage.

Even to a stranger like her who barely knew Eren, she could tell from that fiery look in his eyes that he had a lot of bottled-up fury within him, within in his heart, waiting to erupt. "No…" He answered, still nervous around her. "He's… a nice person. He just—"

"WAKE UP!" His advisor shrieked at the top of his lungs, dragging Armin's and Mikasa's attention back to the uncomfortable scene unfolding itself. "You are a Prince… who is going to be crowned King soon! And here you are, accusing a PRINCESS of such indecency?! That's unheard of! What would your _parents_ thin—"

"_Shut the fuck up!_" He yelled, before running off, like a little child who just got scolded by his mother for his rude behaviour. Except, at least to Mikasa, he wasn't the one who was the rude one. Over to her right, the accused Princess was now sobbing, playing victim as she spewed more lies. It was sickening, and she honestly felt pity for him.

"Armin!" Hanji called out before sprinting towards him, "Go after Eren, he'll listen to you. Bring him back here… make sure he's alri—"

"_Advisor Hanji Zoe!_ I forbid you and the gardener to go after that reckless boy. If you keep babying him and comforting him, he'll never recognize his bloody mistakes!" An advisor protested as he approached them, clearly furious over the scene that Eren had caused. "He's bound to doom Paradis! Look at that boy! Accusing a woman of such horrendous acts!?"

"What evidence do you even have of him having lied!?" Hanji defended, "You should know that he wouldn't—"

"Are you saying _I'm_ wrong?" He spat back.

Just like that, another mini argument broke out between them. And nobody seemed to notice Mikasa's sudden disappearance. _This was her opportunity._ She would find the Prince, alone, and would hopefully be able to… well, talk and gain some form of trust. Though, she was well aware of how difficult that it may be now. It was still worth a try and risk, she knew she wouldn't have any better chance to communicate with the Prince privately or befriend him.

Maybe it was manipulative of her, to go and find the Prince alone in a hopefully vulnerable position so she could waltz up to him, befriend him, for her own benefit. But what choice did she have? She was an Ackerman, an Ackerman who had a mission to fulfil.

Granted, she would've loved to delay the mission so she could remain the surface a little longer, to take in the fresh air that she already started to miss. But she knew Levi wouldn't allow it. She knew what consequences were ahead if she chose to _'slack'_.

After a few moments of searching the outsides of the castle, Mikasa found herself lost in the garden. If she wasn't so busy with searching for the brunette, she'd have probably admired the vibrant myriad of flowers that surrounded her. A sight that didn't even exist underground where colours lacked.

Then, she heard the faint sound of some… tiny objects dropping into a lake? A pond? _Just how big was this castle that they could afford a pond?_ Mikasa thought. She then followed the sound, to find the Prince attempting to skip rocks on the mini pond. Except, it seemed like his mind was clouded with too much anger, for him to be able to skip rocks—considering all the rocks he threw, just sunk the moment it came in contact with the water.

Mikasa didn't seem to have a clear though out plan. She just knew that whatever she did from here on out, would be to get close to the Prince in order to obtain what she needed. She looked down on the ground, to see some twigs. Unhesitatingly, she stepped on them, causing a crack sound to be emitted.

She had to first make her presence known. _I can't hide in the shadows anymore_, she reminded herself.

In an instant, Eren turned to notice Mikasa, before he clicked his tongue in agitation. Mikasa couldn't blame him, she was sure he'd rather see Armin or Hanji, rather than a stranger. "What are you doing here?" He asked with annoyance and anger lingering in his tone.

"I could ask you the same thing." Mikasa responded before walking closer to where the brunette was. "I came to get some fresh air, and I found myself los—"

"_Lies._" He snapped harshly, glaring daggers at her. Mikasa flinched just slightly. Perhaps, she was wrong about him being vulnerable out here. "You're just like the rest of them, waiting to... just get me alone so you can..." He bit his lip in vexation. "Listen, Princess. I don't care if you're from the East Sea. I don't know what your intentions were for coming here. But if you think I'm going to sob and cry so you can comfort me, so you can get closer to me. You're wrong. I don't care what your country has to offer, I don't want to marry you or anyone."

The way he said it so firmly and bluntly had caught Mikasa off guard. He had practically guessed her plan, well… some of it. _Things will be hard after all. _She thought, holding back a sigh.

_How could she get close to someone who was distrustful of everyone?_

"… Who said I wanted to marry you?" Mikasa murmured, causing the brunette to give her an _'are you kidding me?'_ sort of look. After all, the whole purpose of attending this ball was for him to pick a bride. However before he could retort, she continued, "I just want to establish good relations for the sake of my country, and for others within the East Sea region that now depend on me to do so. It doesn't matter whether I wed you or not."

"…is this way of you trying to tempt me, Princess? Telling me that by forming these _'good relations' _with you, I'd be able to obtain a lot of resources?! Listen, Princess Mikasa Azu, was it? I don't ca—"

"I'm not tempting you." Mikasa responded calmly, "I'm just telling you the reason for my presence, is in representation of the East Sea, as the Princess from Hizuru. We just wish to reconnect with the rest of the world." She spoke._ Hizuru_, from what Mikasa read in the books Traute gave, was that it was a country well-known for its defence forces, as well as its resources. It was also a powerful nation at that time. Though, she was sure that Eren wouldn't know that… well, unless the books that Kenny most likely stole was from the royal library of Paradis—if they had one—and that he just so happened to read it.

"So you're not here for marriage? Shocking." Eren scoffed, and Mikasa could tell he still didn't believe her. "I don't have time for marriage…" He added on, silently under his breath, but the raven managed to catch his words.

"Don't have time..? If you don't mind me asking, why not?" Mikasa asked, in hopes of… understanding him more, or at least understanding this… anger that she noticed to be weighing heavily in his heart. Not to mention, that was the best and only way to get someone's trust—you need to understand them, so you know what to say and what to do, that would please them, that would gain their trust.

"…I still have things I need to do. People I need to rid." Eren responded coldly. He seemed to be opening up, yet why did Mikasa feel like whatever he had planned to say, was something that everyone already knew?

"… and who are these people?" She pressed on, wanting to know more.

"Ah... that's right, you probably never heard of them." He clenched his fist, "But these people are monsters. Everyone hates them, even those who aren't from Paradis. They are disgusting and revolting monsters who are nothing but fucking cowards. They kill for no reason, they kill without a second thought. They are corrupting this country. They... deserve to die a horrible death." There was nothing but infuriation in his tone, and it was clear that he bore malice towards these people.

Why did Mikasa had a feeling that she knew who these people were?

"_They are the Ackermans."_

For a moment, Mikasa thought her heart had stopped. She felt like she had just been caught red-handed doing something illegal. She felt like the mask she wore, had just been ripped off.

"…Princess?" Eren called out, upon noticing the prolonged silence. He turned towards her a second too late, because by then, Mikasa was quick to force herself to pull herself together. She had to remind herself that everyone still believed her bluff.

She still had to continue with this act, wearing this invisible mask.

"Sorry... I… I didn't know there were such wicked people in your kingdom…" She murmured.

"Yeah, there are. They aren't your normal criminal group. They're nothing but cruel bastards... but you needn't worry, our guards are highly-skilled. I have the utmost faith in them… and one day, I will slaughter every last one of those shitty Ackermans. That's why I don't have time for _this_. If those Ackermans continue to live, it'd mean destruction for this land. They killed too many innocent lives… they killed the people I loved." He mumbled the last part extremely softly. He hadn't mean to open too much to her; a stranger. Mikasa managed to hear it, but it seemed like her mind was elsewhere by then.

"…You must really hate them." She mumbled, before her eyes shifted towards the lake, where she saw her reflection, along with the agony in her pained eyes. The words, _'killed too many innocent lives'_ began to echo in her head, not to mention it seemed like the Prince was also a victim to their vile acts. Then, she remembered the bloody massacre that she caused underground during her first bloodlust outbreak.

_Just how many… innocent lives did she take at that time?_

"I do. I hate and despise their existence. They are nothing but mindless freaks. Who wouldn't fucking hate them?"

Mikasa could agree that _she_ was a mindless freak, but hell… it wasn't as if she had a choice to not walk on this bloody path. Well, not like anyone knew that. Even if they did, she knew that the things she did was still inexcusable.

Again, there was this silence that loitered in the air for a brief period. During that brief period, Mikasa forced those memories out of her. "Yeah…" The raven uttered, as she took a deep breath. It wasn't time to have flashbacks to her bloodlust outbreaks. _'Control, Control, Control.'_ she chanted in her mind. She stared at her reflection once again, before closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at that _monster_.

"…_I hate the Ackermans too."_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**NEXT UPDATE: NOVEMBER.**

Hello, I'm sorry for not uploading a chapter last month, I was busy drowning in exams haha T-T, and guess what? That's right! I have exams coming soon again :') so I don't think I'd be able to upload in October? If I'm lucky, and have spare time, I can upload during then! I apologise for the delay ;-; Once End November to December hits, I can upload more often since during then I'd have more time haha.

On another note, I was re-reading previous chapters to jog back my memory and noticed I made a shit mistake. Yep, in previous chapter in Mikasa's entrance I referred to her as 'Princess Mikasa Azu of the East Sea', it was meant to be 'Princess Mikasa Azu of Hizuru, representing the East Sea!' ugHHH yeah, so there's that. (I'll be making changes in regards to that.)

I hope this chapter was okay and not confusing. If you're wondering how Traute hasn't found out about Kenny being an Ackerman… well, he's sneaky and haha ;) other reasons that shall be revealed in due time.

_**Additionally, I realise that each chapter has A LOT of words. Like in this chapter alone (excluding Author's notes) is around 6000+ words. Is it too wordy for y'all? :/ if it is, do tell and I'll shorten it. If it doesn't bother you then never mind haha._

Other than that, I hope your enjoying this story! _Please Leave A Review! I would love to hear your thoughts! :)_


	5. A Part of The Past and The Lair?

**Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.**

* * *

"_They aren't your normal criminal group. They're nothing but cruel bastards... but you needn't worry, our guards are highly-skilled. I have the utmost faith in them… and one day, I will slaughter every last one of those shitty Ackermans. That's why I don't have time for this. If those Ackermans continue to live, it'd mean destruction for this land. They killed too many innocent lives… they killed the people I loved." He mumbled the last part extremely softly, as if he wasn't meant to say that. Mikasa managed to hear it, but it seemed like her mind was elsewhere by then._

_"…You must really hate them." She muttered, before her eyes shifted towards the lake, where she saw her reflection, along with the agony in her pained eyes. The words, 'killed too many innocent lives'_ _began to echo in her head, not to mention it seemed like the Prince was also a victim to their vile acts. Then, she remembered the bloody massacre that she caused underground during her first bloodlust outbreak._

_Just how many… innocent lives did she take at that time?_

_"I do. I hate and despise their existence. They are nothing but mindless freaks. Who wouldn't fucking hate them?"_

_Mikasa could agree that _ _she_ _ was a mindless freak, but hell… it wasn't as if she had a choice to not walk on this bloody path. Well, not that anyone knew that. Even if they did, Mikasa knew that the things she did were still inexcusable._

_Again, there was this silence that lingered for a brief period. During that brief period, Mikasa forced those memories out of her. "Yeah…" The raven uttered, as she took a deep breath. It wasn't time to_ _have flashbacks to her bloodlust outbreaks._ _'Control, Control, Control.'_ _she chanted in her mind. She stared at her reflection once again, before closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at that_ _monster_.

"…_I hate the Ackermans too."_

* * *

_I wonder when the last time I killed someone was? _was the first thing that raced through Mikasa's mind the moment she had woken up from another nightmare.

Slowly, she sat up and looked out the window to see that the sun had barely risen. If she was still in the underground, she'd have probably began her training around this timing, that or have embarked on a mission with Levi. Now living the life of a 'Princess', she had longer hours to spend asleep. It sounded strange to her when she concluded that sleeping longer hours would take her some time getting used to. She was too adapted to waking up early hours, sometimes even before the clock hit five in the morning.

_The sun rise is pretty._ She noted, admiring the orange glow in the distance, spreading its rays while it rose from its own slumber. With the underground being a literal underground city, it wasn't as if she could bask in the sunlight or watch even the moon hanging in the sky so often. Especially when Kenny didn't permit her to take on missions on the surface.

The nightmare she had just experienced was nothing new, yet it was enough to cause her to wake, hand clasped around her chest, gasping for air. This recurring nightmare she had was nothing more than a dark memory from the past… the memory of the massacre that she caused.

_I do. I hate and despise their existence. They are nothing but mindless freaks. Who wouldn't fucking hate them?_ The words that the Prince said last night began to echo in her mind once again. It was an agonizing reminder to her of how much she hated her bloodlust… how much she hated herself.

After last night's ball fiasco, some of the Princesses and daughters of aristocrats left—it seemed that the misunderstanding that the Prince had found himself in had chased away some of the possible candidates for the position of his wife. Moreover, the dispute that his advisors publicly and shamelessly had with one another brought concern to some of the Princesses. While Paradis had lots to offer, they didn't wish to be caught in future conflicts within the Council for a multitude of reasons. It was something Advisor Hanji came to regret having acted so shamelessly rather than deal with it behind closed doors and away from the public eye.

She just couldn't control her rage when they bashed Eren like that, pushing all the blame to him without a proper reason. It wasn't typical for her to lose her cool so easily, and a part of her blamed the little alcohol she drank.

All in all, they left; for the Princesses who left, their nation already had enough resources, and just being an ally of Paradis was good enough for them.

Some stayed, either because of greed or desperation. Paradis had quite some things to offer that the other nations had trouble attaining. And should a union between families occur with his marriage to a woman, such a direct connection would mean that Paradis would be obligated to share their riches; and maybe even prioritize sending their riches to them.

Mikasa knew for a fact that a few of the Princesses and daughters of high aristocrats who stayed were quite reluctant. It wasn't because of the fact that they disliked the 'attitude' Eren had showed the other night. But rather, the idea of an arranged and forced love didn't sit well with a few. Unfortunately for them, their parents didn't give them much of an option.

Was it bad that a part of Mikasa rather be a Princess forced into a marriage? It was better than being a deranged murderous monster. Even if she wasn't exactly free, at least less innocent lives would be lost. It didn't matter if she was to be doomed for a loveless marriage if she had that Princess sort of life. It was better than being a goddamn Ackerman cursed with bloodlust.

_I will slaughter every last one of those shitty Ackermans._ Again, Eren's words echoed in her head. Words that she agreed with. However, it seemed like his advisors had other ideas, or rather they wanted the Prince to focus on other things.

That night, when his advisors had found him in the garden, along with Mikasa, they wanted to bring him back to the castle to address an apology before more guests could rethink their decision of staying. That's when another argument erupted.

"I told you, I _don't_ want a marriage! There are more important things! Like ridding the world of the damned Ackerm—"

"_Enough!_ You're making a fool of yourself… and in front of another Princess!" He gestured to Mikasa who watched silently, shaking her head as if to say that it was fine, but clearly it was ignored. "Your parents would be so disappointed in you if they heard your words!" She watched as the anger boiling in him reaching its peak, his clenched fist that tightened, preparing itself to punch someone.

"Eren!" Another voice called out, it was Hanji. The four-eyed woman approached the brunette, her eyes softening and began to reason with him as nonchalantly as she could before violence could erupt.

Mikasa was quick to note how Eren treated _this_ advisor differently from the others—she could tell this from the way his balled-up fist slowly loosened. It also didn't take a genius to figure out who the Ackermans killed that he considered to be loved ones; it should be his parents, right? Why else did he act so exasperated whenever they were brought up? She knew that they had passed away, however having lived in the underground for most of her life, she had much more things to worry about than royal affairs.

Though, Mikasa couldn't help but wonder why at that time—why Kenny (or any other Ackerman at all) would kill the King and Queen when he hated doing anything associated with royalty. Or maybe that was the reason why he didn't want to do any missions which involved them or their affairs directly; not until now. Or, it _wasn't_ Kenny who killed them—and it was just another skilled assassin who threw the blame at the Ackermans because hell, did everyone love framing and blaming the Ackermans.

After that disastrous night, Mikasa was escorted to a guest room meant for esteemed guests or royals to rest. As for Levi, he was sent to another guest room at another part of the castle. And honestly, if Mikasa didn't have her constant nightmares, she'd have slept like a baby in her luxurious guest room which was probably ten times bigger than her one underground. (Maybe she was exaggerating, but compared to the almost torn-down hideout where she lived, this was definitely better in some sense.)

_I wonder when the last time I killed someone was? _

The haunting memory finally hit her.

_The last time _I_ killed someone was two weeks ago._

Kenny was the one who accompanied her that time. And after she made her kill, her hands began to tremble again, and her breathing became heavy. Her head was in pain, it was like an intense migraine had hit her. Slowly, she felt herself losing control…

This was how things went sometimes, Mikasa could easily deliver a kill—but whatever would happen after was always a gamble. She could either go mad, or, nothing would happen. Thankfully, over the years she did manage to control it a little better… but unfortunately, not enough. And unlike Levi who tried his best to handle her bloodlust in a gentler way, Kenny was… stricter.

Similar to Levi, Mikasa had mixed and conflicted feelings when it came to Kenny. Sighing, she quickly shove that memory away as she got out from the bed. _I might as well take a shower and get dressed. _She thought.

She walked over to retrieve some clothes that she had packed, before making her way to the private bathroom, which was connected to the room she slept in. She wondered how rich the royal Jaegers were, honestly. Or just royalty in general. Albeit, it wasn't the size of the bathroom wasn't what astounded her, instead it was the clean water running down when she turned on the tap.

Back in the underground, water was scarce. Clean water was even scarcer. And in the current hideout where she and Levi lived, there were times the water in the showers would be brown (and if so, Levi would curse and scorn in utter revolt.) or, water wouldn't run at all. Even so, the underground dwellers made the most of it. It really baffled her to overhear some Princesses complaining about their own guest room the other day.

Mikasa began to undress herself once she had closed the bathroom door. It was then she noticed the full-body sized mirror bolted against the wall beside the bathtub. (Again, a bathtub was something she considered to be opulent—she really didn't understand why the Princesses were complaining. Even the mirror had what appeared to be golden frames with intricate patterns.) She also saw her reflection, or more specifically, the reflection of her bare back after she shifted her long black hair aside, and had unclasped her bra.

Although to be frank, it wasn't really that bare; not with _that_ on her skin. On the upper and middle part of her back, was the letter _'A'_ in a circle, carved and tattooed into her skin—to which, brought back another series of memories she'd like to forget.

She didn't remember much of what happened. Although, she did remember that she was around nine years old during then. According to Kenny, she was knocked out and kidnapped and was about to be sold on the black market, until he rescued her, that is. And the letter _'A'_ was apparently the symbol or brand designed by the crooks who stole her, to apparently mark her as their property to use.

It was all a blurry memory, considering she had been unconscious for the most part. The idea of being sold off to strangers who would do who knows what sent a shiver down her spine. It made her feel _so _sickened.

_"…But,_ _if_ _they do interrogate you and suspect your identity…" _Traute's words began to echo_, breaking the raven out of her thoughts, "You can show…"_

"_You can show that letter that is carved on your back. Conveniently, another term for Oriental is Asian. And conveniently, your fake surname starts with an A. It'll lower their suspicions, no one would just tattoo that on their skin without reasoning, plus it isn't uncommon for royalty or clans to have a symbol or crest be carved or tattooed onto their skin. You can manipulate them into thinking that."_

Who would've guessed this vile symbol, or trademark imprinted on her skin would've become useful?

Heaving another heavy sigh, Mikasa shook her head to rid her thoughts. After she was done with undressing and filling the bathtub, she cautiously entered and soaked herself in the comforting warm and clean water.

If only she could live in such a luxury forever, but alas… she had a mission, a _dirty _mission to complete.

Suddenly, the water didn't feel so clean anymore.

"…I wonder what Levi is doing…" She droned out wearily.

* * *

By the time Mikasa had rose out of bed, Levi had already began his search around the castle.

Unlike Mikasa who had gotten a bedroom all to herself, Levi had to share his with more than 5 men who snored too loud the entire night. And inevitably, the short male found himself in a grumpy mood.

Taking a glance around his surroundings to ensure it was clear of any presence, he took out a small map of the castle that Kenny had given them. Although, despite the map they were provided with, Levi couldn't find this place in this damned large castle. It had multiple different buildings and sections for different purposes. For a moment, he felt pity for the staff members who had to clean this whole damn place.

Soon enough after wandering around for almost half an hour, he found himself lost. Not because Levi couldn't read maps; for what it's worth, he had once successfully navigated himself in an aristocrat's mansion with another annoyingly complicated map for a separate mission. It was just, this castle was _too_ goddamn big—from the outside it looked big, but once you entered, hell, it was fucking enormous.

All he wanted was to find the library, where vital information would most likely be stored. But at the same time, he wouldn't mind accidentally stumbling into the secret lair that Kenny wanted them to locate. He wanted to get this over with. Sure, bathing in actual clean water was a bliss, but he knew better than to get used to this… freedom, to this _normal, extravagant _life. Because the reality was that he wasn't a knight, and Mikasa wasn't a Princess. They were killers, assassins and murderers. They were wanted people in the worst possible way imagined. _They were Ackermans._

And _this_ was the worst possible place to be, for wanted people like them who were unwanted in society.

There weren't just thousands of guards in this place, no. There were uncountable numbers of royal guards roaming in this place too. The difference? Well, normal guards in Paradis were often stationed at areas around Paradis for 'simpler' tasks. They could fight, sure. But, the royal guards on the other hand… they were known for their brute, inhuman strength. They were known as _The Azker_, well known amongst many nations for their dedication and strength that they offered to the royal family. Maybe that was why those advisors that Levi observed to seemingly detest the bratty Prince hadn't usurped and steal power yet; not when they wouldn't have their skilled military, or even the surface civilians (who were grateful towards the royal family) behind their back.

_Speak of the devil. _Levi thought, hearing the sound of footsteps approaching. Swiftly, he kept the map away before he continued to stroll. There was no point of attempting to hide back in the shadows. He wasn't a criminal; not now at least. He was supposed to be a knight. Besides, he could already think of lies to use to explain why he was walking around the castle when the sun barely came out.

"What are you doing?" A hoarse voice queried.

Levi calmly turned, making eye contact with the rather tall blonde male whose brows slowly furrowed after those words left his lips. Blue eyes, blonde hair. _What a combination._

He looked familiar, though. And Levi presumed that he probably saw his face while reading over the documents Kenny gave.

"I'm looking for Princess Mikasa Azu's room. I haven't had the chance to properly speak to her after last night's… mess. The Princesses were quickly escorted to their rooms after the Prince's apologies after all. I would like to check how she's doing." He responded, biting back the urge to make a comment on how ridiculously big this shitty palace was which made his job harder. What restrained him was the fact that he didn't need to get kicked out.

He raised a brow in suspicion, and _hell_, were his eyebrows like a fucking bush. "This early?"

"I'm still adjusting to the time here. Nations that are far apart tend to be some hours behind or ahead."

"…Alright." He said, seeming to buy Levi's lie. "Walk straight ahead, you'll see a staircase to your right, head up one level, walk straight ahead again and turn left when you see a large crystal flower statue. You'll find her room somewhere there, I assume you have the Princess's room number?"

If Levi had a notepad with him, he'd have jotted all that shit down. Because Bushy-brow's directions made more sense than the map Kenny gave him. He wondered if it was outdated. And if it was, _curse that old man_. "Thank you for your directions Mr…?"

"Erwin." He responded flatly. That name rang a bell in Levis brain. He finally remembered where he had seen and heard of him. His face had been sketched onto one of the documents Kenny had given them, and even that four-eyed woman had mentioned him too. He was Erwin Smith, the Head of and Commander of the Azker Royal Guards who was rumoured to even have authority over the regular guards, too. Well, now Levi really hoped he didn't give off anything worth suspecting. He wasn't in the mood to be watched, observed or stalked.

Erwin then nodded his head, as if expecting him to do some introductions as well. "Levi." The raven said flatly, "I'll take my leave now." With that, he made his way to Mikasa's room.

And despite the fact Erwin disappeared from his sight when he looked back after walking straight for almost a minute, he could easily tell he was being followed. _Just great._ He thought. _Did I really do something suspicious? Or does he think I'm going to steal that crystal flower thing?_

_Well, whatever._ _The library can wait. I wanted to check on that brat anyway. _He sighed, before making his way towards the room where Mikasa rested.

* * *

Mikasa's bath ended in less than fifteen minutes. She didn't have all the free time in the world to waste soaking her body in the bubbly water, besides, it wasn't as if their lavender-scented soap could cleanse her of her bloodstained sins.

The clothes she picked to wear for the day were… well, humble, to say the least.

There were many outfits in her bags that could display the _'riches'_ she had. But Mikasa didn't wish to stick out like a sore thumb like yesterday's ball. Then again, putting on clothes that commoners might often wear could also still make her the odd one out if all the women today decided to dress extravagantly to impress the Prince.

Mikasa scoffed at that idea. The Prince… being impressed by that. Yesterday's events were enough to justify that _His Majesty_ wasn't interested in that sort of thing.

She wore a simple long-sleeved blouse, along with a long rosewood pink in colour skirt that covered up her knees. Mikasa honestly considered wearing another Kimono again, but it seemed like a waste. The Kimono was beautiful, she didn't want to dirty it if today's activities landed her in the garden. There were other clothes too, like dresses and such. But she didn't want to be too restricted, especially when some of them seemed like it required her to wear a corset.

Besides, simplicity was best… right?

Mikasa walked over to another full-body sized, golden-framed mirror in the guest bedroom, which stood near the window. "I should probably just tie a pony tail…" She mumbled, knowing fully well if she tried anything complicated on her own, her hair would turn into a bird's nest. As she reached out for a brush to lessen the untidiness that was her hair and free her tangles, her eyes took a glimpse outside the window. It was undeniable that the scenery outside was beautiful.

For one thing, she saw greenery. She could see the clear blue sky, along with the clouds that looked so fluffy. It was better than the underground, where everything was almost the same shade as mud or mould. Flowers could barely be grown there. Not to mention, the air was much fresher on the surface.

Just then, something caught her attention. Although she was at a fairly high level of the castle, her sharp eyes manage to spot a familiar looking staff member below in the garden—who was chatting with another blonde, though her hair seemed lighter than the male.

_Is that Armin?_ She wondered. _And if it is, who is he talking to?_ The two blondes chose a place that looked secluded, and from Armin's nervous stance, she could tell that the person he was talking with was probably important; or at least held a higher position as compared to him.

The lady in front of him was wearing a dress that was pretty much glistening, despite the fact that the sun was barely up yet. _Were those diamonds sewed onto her dress?_ Mikasa wondered, squinting her eyes. _Is it a Princess?_

Though, before she could confirm any of her thoughts, she heard a knock at the door. _Who could that be? This early?_ Her focus shifted to the door as she made her way towards it.

"Who is it?" Mikasa called out, and she was then met with a familiar grumpy tone. "It's me, brat."

Fortunate for Levi, it seemed like bushy brows had finally went away when he figured the male wouldn't deter from the directions he had given him. "I'll be quick." Levi said, loud enough for Mikasa to hear through the closed door, but soft enough to ensure any busy-bodies wouldn't eavesdrop. "As you know, everyone is to assemble later for breakfast with the Prince. I'm not sure what's happening after, but I may be late."

And before Mikasa could question, he continued. "I might as well sneak around. I plan to go to the library, to see if there's anything useful. Or better, to see if that secret lair is there."

"Why the library of all places?" Mikasa asked, leaning against the door. "We might as well wait—"

"The library, aside from the Prince's bedroom which I still have no idea in hell where it is because of this big shitty house, is a good place to start. Supposedly, from this even more shitty map," It didn't take Mikasa long to know he was irritated by the poor map Kenny gave him, and that his insomnia made his grumpiness worse. "The library looks rather big. Who knows what's there? For all we know, if luck is on our shitty side for once, someone might've misplaced an important book there."

_Has luck ever been on our side?_ Was what Mikasa wanted to ask, but she bit back her tongue. If luck were ever on their side, they wouldn't have been cursed with this dreaded, hellish bloodlust.

"Then let me follow y—"

"If the Princess disappears, that'd draw too much unwanted suspicion. Especially when clearly, you already stick out like a sore thumb."

"Fair enough…" Mikasa mumbled.

"…You're feeling alright, are you?" He asked after a small pause.

"Don't worry." Mikasa assured, "I'm fine."

"Alright." Levi sighed before turning around, "Don't do anything shitty while I'm gone, brat." With that, he left.

Mikasa walked back over to the mirror, grabbed her brush and hair-ties. Levi seemed like he was in a hurry… and it stirred up conflict within her. On one hand, she wanted to finish this mission just in case if their true identities were ever uncovered. On the other hand, she wanted to drag on this mission. Because this was the closest thing she'd ever get to experience being normal. For one thing, this mission didn't necessarily require her hands to be stained with blood that could risk another outbreak of hers.

But then again, this was Kenny who assigned this mission. He could be using them as pawns for something more that he was secretly devising. Or, he could be lying and had planned to stage another massacre on the surface of Paradis because he was repulsed by the royals.

Despite growing up with Kenny for the most part, Mikasa never really understood him. He _was_ cruel, he once seemed like he was about to kill Levi for trying to defy his bloody fate. At the same time, he _wasn't_ cruel. He at least bothered to try to ensure the assassinating missions were targeted at people who seemed to deserve it rather than just accepting a bunch of randoms that people requested to be slaughtered when they haven't done anything that bad. He let her—a problematic Ackerman—continue to live. He bothered trying to help her control her insanity, even if it training with him became harsher and gruelling. Any remaining microscopic niceness he had had diminished after her bloodlust outbreak.

Mikasa once overheard a conversation between him and Levi, a few weeks after the massacre she caused. At that time, Kenny slowly became… _merciless_ on her.

"It isn't her fault that she couldn't control it!" Levi barked, and thirteen-year old Mikasa at that time swore she could've seen the intent to murder in his greyish hues. "You're pushing her too much. You continued fucking sparing with her even though she clearly had enough! She was crying and begging for you to stop… _she's_ _only fucking thirteen_!"

"Bloody hell like I care! She can take it. She's a damn Ackerman." He argued back, "How else am I supposed to control that _monster_ Harh?! When she goes crazy during those trainings, yer' expect me to just sit there and gently knock some sense into her with feeble hands?!"

"We're all monsters." Levi hissed, and that was the painful truth. "She just became a teenager for fuck's sake! It wouldn't kill you to be slightly nicer in sparring… like not fucking kicking her guts while she's throwing up shit! She didn't even turn."

Carelessly, the following words slipped from Kenny's tongue, "I should've killed her then…"

Levi's eyes turned to slits. "What did you say?" His hands had balled into fists, "Don't you fucking dar—" They raised up and were about to punch him hard in his face. However, despite his swift movements, Kenny caught his fist.

Mikasa had anticipated for Kenny to punch Levi back then, to put him in his place. She was shaking, then. She felt guilty, _so guilty_. But, instead of a violent scene unfolding, Kenny let go of Levi's fist and sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose while he tried to calm himself. And for a moment, Mikasa could've sworn she saw a vulnerable, and maybe even sad look on his face. It was for a split second, and she nearly thought her eyes were fooling her in that split second.

The Ripper never showed weakness, he especially emphasised never to show weakness… and yet…

"I don't plan to kill her." He finally said, but Levi didn't seem trusting of his words. Kenny glanced to the side where Mikasa peeked from the corner. Although she reacted quickly, hiding back in the dark corner, she was sure he knew she eavesdropped—and she expected to get in trouble. She should've hidden herself better, but she felt too weak to disguise her presence at that time. Although, for Levi, it appeared like he was too angry to notice her.

Surprisingly, Kenny didn't drag her out and yell at her. He faced back to Levi, whose blood was clearly still boiling. It almost looked like he was about to have a bloodlust outbreak of his own. "Fine. I'll be _'nicer'_." Kenny spat, seemingly disturbed at the mere thought of being nice. "But I'll tell yer' brat, if she doesn't control it soon, she'll end up being the cause of 'er own death."

She wondered if that was Kenny's warning to her back then—that if she didn't control her bloodlust, she'll meet an early demise. Though, he did keep his word. He was still harsh, but not so merciless anymore.

One thing was for sure, though. Kenny was a man full of secrets.

Once the raven brought herself back to reality, her focus shifted back to the mirror to see that her hands were braiding her hair automatically while she had been drowning in past memories. Her hands always seemed to fidget when she was too deep in thought, too distracted to hide or suppress such emotions.

"Ah, whatever." Mikasa sighed. "I'll settle for a braid."

* * *

At long last, Levi finally managed to find the library. It had been in another building within royal grounds, and hell was it huge. It was packed with many shelves which were filled with numerous books of a wide variety. There were some desks and chairs around as well, for anyone who wanted to stay in this silent—void of any humans at all— environment to read.

He wondered why the library was built this big, and filled with uncountable books. He doubted this library would be bustling with people anytime soon, considering the only thing that currently lingered around corners were specks of dust that Levi tried to ignore, but to no avail.

Many books were covered with dust, and Levi had in no doubt believed that some of the older books had ugly yellow pages to match the filthy book. He had seen so many servants and maids serving and cleaning during and after the ball, and yet there weren't enough to clean this place? _The amount of dust was just appalling for a clean-freak him._

The appalled male began to take light steps, surveying the area meticulously. There didn't seem to be anything suspicious. He wondered if there was some secret passage that could only be opened if he pulled open a random hidden book or if he twisted the head of a stone statue he saw a few sections and shelves ago.

It sounded incredulously stupid, yes. But he had done something similar on accident in some rich bastard's mansion, and it worked. _What was this, a shitty fairy-tale?_ He had thought back then.

Whatever it was, if it involved pulling a book from a shelf, there may be an obstacle.

There were just some shelves that were… _too _high.

A part of him suddenly wished he brought Mikasa along, but even with her height, she wouldn't be able to reach the highest bookshelf in this library. The other part of him rather not, not just because her absence would bring upon suspicion from the rest of the guests but also because he would utterly dread the short jokes she'd definitely make if she found out. Though, he found it radically shitty that a bookshelf would stand so tall. What was the purpose of building it that high? To hide something?

All the more reason he had to find a way to reach up to the highest shelf, somehow.

Just then, a loud screeching sound echoed the room, shattering the library's peaceful atmosphere completely. For a moment, Levi thought it was some choking insane duck that had just crashed through a window to seek help removing whatever was stuck in its throat. And he would've believed it, if he hadn't taken checked to see what or who caused that outrageous noise.

_It's her._ Levi thought. _That four-eyed woman. Hanji Zoe._

With the four-eyed woman's back facing him, he watched her hands scrambling about, reaching out and retracting back. _What is she doing?_ He frowned.

Well, whatever the case, it seemed like she had tripped, which had resulted in a series of _'Ows'_ that left her lips after her earlier screech.

From the information Kenny had given them, there was no _'Hanji Zoe' _in any of them—at least, not in the important documents about high-ranking military personnel. Yet, Levi wasn't able to sense her presence when she had entered… that was, until she tripped, fell, and screamed like a duck gone mad.

All he knew about her as of now was that she was an advisor who was close to Prince Eren.

_Well,_ Levi thought as he watched her scrambling to pick up her fallen books, _If she's an advisor who is close to the Prince, she might know something about that secret lair._

With that thought in mind, Levi went over to help her. "Are you looking for something?"

Hanji turned around, and then looked up to the direction where she heard a masculine voice, and it was only then did Levi notice she wasn't wearing her pair of glasses. "Huh? Who are you…?" She squinted her eyes. "Is that you, Nanaba?"

_Is her eyesight that shit?_ Levi wondered, considering he had mistaken her for a woman.

"Wait no… Is that you… Ber… Bertolt Hoover? Why does your voice sound so… wait, so the Princess of the Crystal Empire did come? I—"

"No, it's me. The guard of the Princess of Hizuru." Levi corrected, glancing around the ground before he spotted her glasses. Right next to her. "You dropped this." He murmured, unimpressed before he picked it up and returned it to her.

"Ah! Thank you!" She gleamed as she wore them, and proceeded to quickly pick up the scattered books on the ground which she had dropped earlier. Before Levi could've offered his assistance, she posed a question, "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be with the Princess?"

"She told me to check if this place has a library or not. She enjoys reading, and thought your library would offer her books she hadn't seen before back in Hizuru or from the East Sea region in general." He lied smoothly, and thankfully, the pony-tailed brunette didn't show any signs of wielding any suspicion towards him, "Originally, she wanted to accompany me but her presence is compulsory for today's breakfast, no?"

"Hmm… she sounds a lot like Armin! He reads a lot." She laughed light-heartedly as she stood up, with the stack of books in her hands, "Still, I didn't think you, who told me yesterday that you consider yourself as her brother, would leave he alone like that. Gee! She may want you to help her find the library, but being alone in this new environment must be nerve-racking for her! Ya know? Especially after that longgg isolation!"

_Okay, maybe Levi was wrong._ Maybe she was suspicious of him, well, that or she was just joking around or taunting him.

Regardless, Levi continued with his act, "She's a stubborn one." At least, that part he wasn't exactly lying. "And I'm not one to defy her orders unless it's stupidly absurd. But that's very unlikely of her. Moreover, I trust Paradis's famously strong guards to watch over any guest of the Castle. Anyway…" He trailed off, and his eyes looked towards the pile of books she carried. In an attempt of changing the subject, he spoke, "Let me help you carry those books to wherever, you did fall."

Hanji raised a brow, "Doing favours for the advisor won't make the Prince favour choosing Princess Mikasa."

_Hell, like I fucking ever want that. _Levi thought to himself, holding back a distraught look.

"I know. But, the Princess values helping others in need. She'd hate me if—"

"Fine! Fine! If you insist!" She gave in, mostly because she didn't want to make two trips. After all, she still had more books she wanted to take. "But it's not going to do you and Princess Mikasa any favour! Anyway, you can help me carry those books. I'm going to get more to bring it down _to my lair._" Hanji said before she raced towards another section to collect more books.

_Lair?_ Levi's eyes narrowed. _Is she referring to the secret lair that Kenny was talking about? Perhaps this mission will end faster than I thought…_

"Come on slowpoke! Carry those books here and help me carry these! Oh and there's more!"

"Tch." Levi clicked his tongue, "Who is she calling slowpoke?" He grumbled under his breath before carrying the pile of books as he walked over to her.

Soon enough, the two of them were carrying several books towards her lair. Levi still couldn't believe she needed this many books for god knows what weird reason. "We're almost there!" She chirped.

There was definitely something off though, and Levi could sense it. If this was such a _'secret lair'_ why was this woman openly showing it to a stranger? Well, unless this was a trap and an ambush. It was highly unlikely though, they couldn't possibly have figured out their identities, right? There was also the other reason that maybe, Hanji Zoe was actually a naïve and stupid woman that he mistook to be sharp.

But Levi knew that that _wasn't_ true. Hanji Zoe was anything but a stupid woman. A four-eyed woman who needed these many books, who was a troublesome sharp woman that had been asking him rather alarming questions, wouldn't be _that_ stupid. So, why?

"And we're here!" She exclaimed, and Levi found himself standing in front of the cleaning supply room. And before he could've had the chance to make a sarcastic remark, Hanji kicked open the door—revealing… a room full of mops, brooms, brushes, soaps…

"Wha—"

"Shhh!" She hushed before she placed the books down briefly, strolling over to the shelves holding toilet paper rolls before rummaging through her pockets to finally dig out a key. It was only then did Levi notice a small keyhole on the wall, hidden behind the toilet paper rolls that she soon pushed aside.

Placing the key in, and turning it, the wall became a door—and opened when she pushed it, revealing a flight of stairs leading downwards. "Don't worry, I promise it's not manure down there!" She joked before picking back up the books and headed down into the darkness.

"It better not be some shit…" He muttered under his breath as he followed after her. He didn't sense anyone else around, and he hoped that was the case. The last thing he needed to deal with was a damn ambush.

…

And upon entering her lair, did Levi's eyes widened at the _shit_ he saw. Not literal shit, but it was close enough, and enough to nauseate him to the point where he felt bile rising up to his throat. Irritation was bubbling within him as well.

"What the fuck." He cursed.

* * *

"_Don't do anything shitty while I'm gone, brat."_ Was what Levi had warned her. At first, Mikasa found it ridiculous for him to tell her something so obvious. Of course, if there was trouble, she'd like to avoid it if possible. She still had to carry on this act to the end.

And she wasn't the type to draw in trouble, willingly.

So, Mikasa didn't know how the hell she found herself in _this _situation. Everything was going fine, until she was confronted by the Princess of the Crystal Empire, whose pair of crystal hues shot her a cold, distant look that would've sent a shiver down her spine had her life not resemble a gory horror story since birth.

"Spar me." She said—no, she _demanded_.

Never in Mikasa's life would she have guessed that this cruel world and her cruel fate would have led her to spar with the Princess of the Crystal Empire, Annie Leonhart.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Phew! Finished this before November ended… now there's my other two fanfics… haha… siGH Writer's block sucks! To be honest though, writing Kenny is hard :/ maybe it's just me haha. I hope none of the characters seem to OOC. Anyway, I hope this chapter was okay haha :3

_Anyway Please Leave A Review! I'd love to hear your thoughts!_


	6. Annie vs Mikasa

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.**

**Important: Please read Author's note. Involves update scheduling.**

* * *

"_Don't do anything shitty while I'm gone, brat."_ _Was what Levi had warned her. At first, Mikasa found it ridiculous for him to tell her something so obvious. Of course, if there was trouble, she'd like to avoid it if possible. She still had to carry on this act to the end._

_And she wasn't the type to draw in trouble, willingly._

_So, Mikasa didn't know how the hell she found herself in _ _this _ _situation. Everything was going fine, until she was confronted by the Princess of the Crystal Empire, whose pair of crystal hues shot her a cold, distant look that would've sent a shiver down her spine had her life not resemble a gory horror story since birth._

_"Spar me." She said—no, she_ _demanded_.

_Never in Mikasa's life would she have guessed that this cruel world and her cruel fate would have led her to spar with the Princess of the Crystal Empire, Annie Leonhart._

* * *

The original plan that the Prince's advisors had devised for today was to have each and every one of the Princesses to have a private breakfast session with Eren. They wanted the Princesses to get to know him better, and hopefully erase whatever horrid impression they had of him and Paradis in general during yesterday's disastrous ball. So, _supposedly_, right now the Prince _should_ be sitting down while sharing a conversation with a Princess so he could have a clearer vision in mind of who he wanted as his wife. The future Queen. He should be—but he wasn't.

Instead, he was outside, sparring with someone while the Princesses, daughters from noble and aristocratic families and their guards stood around them and watched.

Mikasa found it surprising that his advisors hadn't yet drag him off the training grounds and force him to have that private breakfast session instead. The only reason she could think of right on top of her head as to why they let it slide was because they didn't want to offend the person he was sparring with. She was a Princess after all, and the one who had suggested this spar in the first place.

Not to mention, she was the one winning too.

"I can't believe that he is losing to Princess Annie Leonhart." Mikasa heard someone whisper to another when Eren had yet again got tossed to the ground. "What did you expect?" The other person—Princess—replied, "The Crystal Empire's Royal Family is known to practice a unique style of martial arts that is passed down in their family and is also taught to their military. They are ranked second for strongest military, with Paradis coming in at first thanks to the strength of those highly skilled elite Azker Royal Guards. Meanwhile as for the Prince…from what I heard, he apparently doesn't even come _close_ to having the same strength as his own regular guards. He is just a reckless man who is obsessed with executing some criminal clan."

_Princess Annie Leonhart of the Crystal Empire, huh? I didn't see her during the ball last night._ Mikasa thought as she watched the blonde land a successful kick to Eren's waist.

She was surprised that their spar had even managed to last this long. Judging from the spar in front of her, Annie was definitely more talented than Eren when it came to hand-to-hand combat. Arguably, Mikasa was sure that she was still being lenient to Eren; even if her kicks and punches appeared to be ruthless. After all if she wanted, Mikasa was sure she could knock him out unconscious.

Unlike Annie who would observe her opponent more to find an opening, Eren was brash and would charge straight ahead towards her without thinking all too much. _Was he not taught how to properly fight?_ Mikasa considered. _Or maybe hand-to-hand combat isn't his forte, maybe it's sword fighting…_

"Eren," Annie called out, "You haven't at all improved from the last time. Your moves are still predictable as ever. How do you expect to defeat those monsters you keep on rambling about?"

Eren glared in response as he spoke, "…don't underestimate me, Annie." Just the sight of his hand balling into a fist as he said that told Mikasa that the cycle would repeat—of him falling prey to her. She wasn't sure what sort of man Eren was. But if he was the type of man that'd get easily riled up, he would have absolutely no chance of winning. Perhaps if he could control his emotions (mostly anger) better, then maybe the outcome of this spar could've been different.

She also took notice of how they addressed one another. They didn't call out to each other with the royal titles of _'Princess'_ or _'Prince'_. It made Mikasa wonder what sort of close bond they shared that was enough to spark a look of jealousy on the faces of the women around her. That, or they were just pissed off at Annie for hogging up the Prince.

On a different note, Mikasa found herself growing concerned as each minute ticked by. Because Levi was yet to show his face. It had already been more than an hour since he had told her that he would continue his private investigation around the Royal Library. _Just how long does he plan to investigate? _Mikasa wondered. She was already lucky that no one questioned the absence of her personal guard.

A few more minutes passed and they were still sparring. And Eren was _still _losing. He couldn't counter nor retaliate to majority of her attacks. The fact that he couldn't see the openings that she saw amidst their fight pestered her a bit. _How could he not_ _see them?_

By now, most of the woman grew bored of the spar in front of them. It was just the same thing repeating over and over, with Eren getting his ass kicked. As a result, a few of them left to have their breakfast under the shade. After all, it didn't seem like that private breakfast session with the Prince was happening anytime soon. Majority of them however, chose to stay and watch their spar while cheering Eren on. It was no mystery to Mikasa that the reason they stayed and cheered Eren on _wasn't_ because they genuinely wanted to give him some form of encouragement. Rather, they wanted to appear more favourable in his eyes so he could choose them to be his Queen.

And perhaps, Mikasa would've done the same. She would've cheered him on and shout encouragements so that Eren would find her more likable, so that she would be a step closer to finding that secret lair. Except, it had already been apparent to her that even if she did that a man like Eren still wouldn't pay any mind to her. It would take more than half-hearted compliments to gain his trust and friendship.

_"You're just like the rest of them, waiting to... just get me alone so you can... Listen, Princess. I don't care if you're from the East Sea. I don't know what your intentions were for coming here. But if you think I'm going to sob and cry so you can comfort me, so you can get closer to me. You're wrong. I don't care what your country has to offer, I don't want to marry you or anyone."_

_"…is this way of you trying to tempt me, Princess? Telling me that by forming these _ _'good relations' _ _with you, I'd be able to obtain a lot of resources?!"_

_"So you're not here for marriage? Shocking."_

Mikasa remembered everything he had said to her that night vividly. And judging from his words, it was clear to her that cheering him on as a stranger in his eyes would mean nothing to him. It would do nothing. It would just waste time.

Thus, Mikasa left. She walked off. It didn't seem like their spar was going to end anytime soon so that he could socialise with the others. And it didn't seem like his advisors were going to stop him either even if he was more or less making a fool out of himself in front of the women.

As Mikasa walked off, she began to have a mini internal debate of whether if she should go off and find Levi since he hadn't return from his investigation. Albeit, before she could even come to a decision, a familiar sounding voice that shrieked had scattered her thoughts and draw her attention.

"Hey! S-Stop it!" It was coming from the garden. Curious and concerned, she followed the sound of the shriek, to only hear the barbaric sounds of punches and kicks that followed after.

She hid behind a tall leafy tree before taking a peek at the source of the ruckus, and forced a gasp of shock down her throat upon witnessing the brutality in front of her.

Armin was getting beaten up by another nation's guard.

"Apologise to the Princess!" The guard hissed before shooting another kick to his body. "How dare a commoner like you soil the Princess's dress?! And then not apologise for it?!" He shouted, before his foot stomped on his body furiously, resulting in another series of pained screeches.

"N-No!" He retorted weakly, struggling underneath his foot. "She _purposely_ made me fall! She was snickering and mocking me after I fell. It was only when she noticed her dress got splashed by the mud she pushed me into, she started playing the victim. _You _saw it too—"

"What bullshit are you spouting huh?!" He cursed, bending down to grab his collar, before forcefully slamming him against a tree (that wasn't the one Mikasa hid behind). If that tree had been a stone wall, or if he had used a little more force, Armin was sure he would've been dead by then from the impact. "Yeah!" The Princess with the stained dress agreed, "Are you Paradis's peasants seriously starting a fight with me?! Do you know my country's power?" She hissed.

"I'm… not in the wrong…how am _I_ in the wrong?" Armin continued. That, Mikasa believed. Even if she didn't know him all too well, he definitely didn't seem like the type to start fights nor cause trouble. She highly doubted he would go out his way to purposely stain a Princess's dress out of spite; not when he had been so afraid to even speak to her during the ball. The fact that this chaos was caused by a stained dress that the wealthy Princess could easily replace baffled Mikasa.

_What a cruel and disgusting world._

Regardless, even if that were the case, she didn't understand why he wouldn't just give in and apologise even if he wasn't in the wrong. Wouldn't that be better than getting beaten up? Not to mention, The Prince and the Paradis's guards weren't there to save him. They were too far away to hear him. She was sure that he was aware of that much, so why wouldn't he give up?

"Just get on your knees and apologise, you peasant." The guard growled and ignored his question, before giving him a sort of taunting look. "You can punch me if you don't like it, you piece of weak shit." He mocked.

"Like… I'd ever do that. I'd… _never _stoop that low." His voice became a little hoarse, struggling to breathe as the guard tightened his grip on his collar, practically strangling him. "You refuse to tell me what I have done wrong… and chose to beat me up instead because _you know I'm right_—I've done nothing wrong. And you can't say a thing to refute me…"

So _that _was why. It wasn't just a matter of pride for him. His courage was admirable, really. If she had been in his position, and that guard had been Kenny… it'd have been a different story for her.

"Why you…" The guard scowled, raising his free hand up that clenched itself tightly. Armin closed his eyes in response, and readied himself to receive another punch.

_I shouldn't intervene. _Mikasa thought.

She was on a mission after all. She knew very well that if she intervened, it would cause trouble for her later on. She knew nothing good would come out from getting involved in this. It wasn't as if Eren was around to watch her save Armin. She wouldn't be able to gain his trust or acknowledgement by saving his friend since he wasn't even around to witness it.

She knew that didn't have much to gain by saving Armin. She had some things to lose, though. For one thing, if she intervened and used some violence during her intervention, people would become more wary of her if word got out about it (which she knew would most likely happen). Most of the people around here already had their guard up high around her, since to them she was just an unknown Princess from some mysterious place that had isolated themselves ever since the previous war.

There was the option of informing someone, but she knew by the time she got help back, Armin would already have his lights knocked out. It would be too late.

_I should _not_ intervene._ She told herself, trying to force her gaze away from the trembling, frightful blonde who braced for the worst as a fist came hurling right at his face.

...

And yet, she found herself catching the guard's raging fist before it could connect with Armin's face. She didn't flinch nor wince from his fist's forceful impact when her hand intervened his attack, the only expression that showed on her face sub-consciously was a look of pure disgust along with a sharp glare.

Startled, the guard released the blonde's collar from his grasp. And fortunately for Armin, he was caught by Mikasa before he could've had the chance to fall again.

"Are you ok—" Before Mikasa could have the opportunity to finish her question, she was immediately interrupted by the mud-stained Princess. "What are you doing?! He's a commoner!" She spat, as if offended that one of her own kind sided with a peasant.

"And so?" Mikasa responded, and the coldness laced in her words seemed to only offend her further. "H-How dare you be so rude!?" She fumed before shooting her guard a look. "Do something!"

"Of course." He growled, looking equally as pissed as the Princess. Perhaps it was because he refused to believe that a mere Princess from some unknown land managed to counter his powerful fist. It was a matter of his pride. "How dare you disrespect her?!" He snapped, charging towards her without a second thought, aiming his fist at her.

_Even though I'm a 'royal', these sort of things still happen huh…?_ She thought silently as she watched the guard drew closer. _Is it because of 'my origins'? From an unknown land… or is it because she and her guard are just ignorant, arrogant scums?_

Once he had been close enough, she then swiftly and effortlessly countered him with an unmerciful kick in the groin, which inevitably resulted in a loud yelp and an abrupt halt in the momentum of his flying fist. The Princess's eyes widened in shock. How did she react so fast? How did she attack him so calmly while simultaneously protecting the commoner?

"Y-You—" Mikasa was already walking off with Armin, finding a spot for him to rest so she could aid him. "I…I'm going to tell Prince Eren's advisors about this…! And then I'll… I'll get them to send you back to your shitty land!" Mikasa didn't give her a reply.

Ackermans shouldn't draw unnecessary attention to them. That was what she was taught since young, and here she was, blatantly going against just that more than she should be, more than her role allowed. She wondered how much trouble she was in. She expected a scolding from Levi which was something she wasn't looking forward to. She didn't even want to _think_ what Kenny would do to her if he were to find out how much she messed up the mission.

She wasn't sure what was going to happen when the advisors found out she kicked the balls of another nation's guard, literally.

_What am I doing?_ She thought quietly. _Why did I help him?_

Well, whatever the reason, she couldn't undo what she just did. And even though she was aware of the consequences of this, she felt no regret.

* * *

It had been around ten minutes since the incident, and five minutes since Mikasa found an emergency first aid kit around the garden. She currently sat on a bench with Armin next to her, whose body was tensed throughout the entire process of her cleaning and bandaging his wounds.

"…Relax." Mikasa muttered, causing him to flinch. "I'm not going to hurt you." She sighed as she bandaged the last of his wounds. She looked up to meet his gaze, to which only expressed fright. It didn't take long for his blue orbs to avoid her. It was evident to her that he felt uncomfortable around her, and after what she had done to that guard, she couldn't blame him.

She didn't expect him to thank her, much less talk to her either. She didn't even know how she managed to convince him to let her tend to his wounds and clean some of the mud off of him when all he seemed to want was to stay far away from her. She didn't even know why she was bandaging his wounds. She could've handed him over to someone else to bring him to the infirmary. It wasn't her responsibility. And yet she took it on herself to tend to him immediately once her eyes spotted an emergency first aid kit nearby, as if some motherly instinct had overtaken her. Even if it involved handling blood, she still…

_Blood._ That guard opened up some new scars for him, resulting in a little bleeding. Thankfully, nothing was too severe and the fresh wounds weren't so deep. There was barely any blood spilling out of him. Only a little.

Albeit in the past, even a little was enough to draw out the bloodthirsty side of Mikasa.

Fortunately, that side hadn't sprung out of her even when her eyes first caught sight of his bleeding. Her bloodlust was unpredictable, and she was quite relieved that it didn't choose to be unpredictable in the worse way when she had been bandaging his wounds. Perhaps the fact that there was mud all over him had covered the scent and sight of blood made the probability of her bloodlust springing out lessen.

"Thank… you." Mikasa's eyes widened as she heard him suddenly speak. "Sorry… It's just… I-I didn't… expect that." He muttered as he fidgeted with his hands nervously, still looking away. "Why… Why did you help me?"

_Why did I help him? _She questioned herself. _I had nothing to gain from it and yet…_

"…I just wanted to." Those words left her lips before she could have the time to form a proper reasoning in her head for her actions. "And I…It's…yeah." _I have killed and hurt enough innocent people because of my unstable bloodlust, so when I saw you getting hurt… and when I realised I was once again faced with the choice of saving someone as opposed to murdering them… I couldn't help myself.—_Of course she couldn't tell him that.

"Oh…" was all he managed, before silence overtook their conversation. She then looked away towards her left arm covered by the long sleeves of her blouse, deciding to then roll it up. She wouldn't have chosen to wear a long-sleeved blouse had she known she would be outside this long, under the scorching sun. And if she had known she would be kicking someone today, she wouldn't have worn a long skirt either.

Despite the fact that he was unwilling to make any form of eye contact with her earlier, Mikasa could feel his failure of a sneaky glance at her every now and then while she rolled up her sleeve, her attention seemingly focused elsewhere.

He had done the same thing when they had first met during the ball. Glancing at her, looking at her. It wasn't in a creepy nor perverted way, but it was more of… as if he was trying to confirm something.

"Is there… something on my face?" she decided to confront him before turning back towards the blonde, catching him in the act as her obsidian orbs caught his glimpse that turned into a… stare. And that perplexed Mikasa even more. His pupils widened as if he just came to some form of epiphany that she wasn't aware of. "I-I… no." He stuttered before finally peeling his gaze away. "It's just…" Whatever he planned to say, he definitely was hesitant about it. And she didn't understand why. Was her presence as a 'Princess' just overwhelming for him? Was that why he acted so nervous and so… strange around her? Or was it something else?

"You just…" He continued, still hesitant and unsure. "You just… I… Are you—"

"_Armin._" A voice interrupted him, and both their heads turned towards the owner of that voice. "A-Annie…" Armin stuttered.

_It's that Princess who was sparring Eren._ Mikasa thought, and now that she had a closer look of her, she thought about the possibility that she was the light blonde haired woman who had been talking to Armin earlier in that secluded area she saw from her bedroom's window. She wasn't sure what they were talking about before, or what history they shared, but she could easily feel the tension between them from the way they both eyed one another.

_Just who was Annie to Armin? And to Eren?_

Annie was the first to avert her gaze away from his, to only look at the bandages wrapped around him. Her eyes narrowed, and Mikasa saw concern in them. "I'm…sorry." Armin apologised.

"We'll talk later, when we're alone." She replied, before eying the raven.

Upon realising that she was an intruder to their conversation, Mikasa stood up straight away, seeing that they needed some sort of privacy. "I'll take my lea—"

"Is it true Princess Azu?!" Another interruption. Mikasa turned to see Eren's advisors with the Princess and the guard she dealt with earlier who stood behind them. Along with them, a crowd from behind slowly gathered and surrounded them—and now even Eren was there, who then rushed over towards Armin worriedly. "Did you attack Princess Anais and her guard?"

_So her name had been Anais._

"Of course she did!" Anais frowned. "You can't trust this… this East Sea Person's words!" She scowled.

"She defended him, isn't that right?" Annie retorted before Mikasa could, and honestly it caught her a little off guard that she seemed to be defending her. Armin nodded in response to Annie's question. "Do you not see his wounds? It wouldn't surprise me to know that Claronte nation's guards attacked a commoner, considering you treat your own people like garbage."

"Huh?! What evidence do you even have that I had my guard beat him u—"

"Because Armin doesn't lie!" Eren shouted with anger boiling in his eyes, startling Anais. "I can't believe you fuckin—"

"Prince Eren!" One of his advisor scolded, "Don't curse at a Princess." He warned, but Eren didn't seem to care. Just before another argument could've occurred, Annie had intervened again.

"Calm down, Eren." She sighed. "As frustrated as I am at Princess Anais's disgusting actions, I'm sure none of us want any 'accidents' happening on Paradis grounds, or arguments that could worsen… relations." She said before shooting a cold glare at Anais, and then to Eren's advisors who then shrank back. Her words sounded like a threat, if anything.

Anais gulped and looked away. Her cold gaze was enough to terrify her and she knew that her worth—her country's worth amounted to nothing next to the Crystal Empire. It seemed like she now only realised the boundaries she crossed. Even Eren's advisors didn't dare retort. They didn't seem like they wanted to get on Annie's—or rather the Crystal Empire's—bad side.

"Moving on," She continued as she turned to Mikasa, and from cold, she sounded more sincere as she spoke, "I'd like to thank you for saving him from those people. It's not every day you see someone from royalty stand up against another nation's guard for a commoner."

Mikasa nodded. "Yeah…It's nothing." She assured.

"Well, now that that's out of the way…" She sighed, "Spar me." She said—no, _she demanded_.

_Wait, what? _Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. _That was… out of the blue._

"An…— Princess Annie—"

"I'm interested, and curious." Annie said, cutting Armin off. "I'm curious to see if my martial arts would work on someone like you. It's been a while since I last met a Princess who could spar or at least, put up a fight."

"…I didn't really fight with her guard. I just caught him off guard." Mikasa justified, "And I… saw you sparring earlier. My ability is no match for yours. I don't wish to get hurt unnecessarily, nor am I looking for a fight. You can ask the Paradis's guards for a spar. They are definitely more skilled than me." The last thing she needed was to give more reason for people to be wary of her.

Annie scoffed, her eyes tracing towards her exposed, muscly arm. "Your arm tells me otherwise." Before Mikasa could question, her hand reached out and lifted up the arm that had its sleeves rolled up. "Aside from your arm muscles that tell me you could be as skilled as or even more skilled than Paradis regular guards..." Annie commented, moving closer to the raven, her eyes squinting as she continued, "I can see a few fading scars on your skin. Scars that tell me you've trained—" Mikasa snatched back her arm before she could've let her finish. She looked away, feeling an overwhelming amount of discomfort washing over her nerves. She did not anticipate for someone to even notice her scars, much less blatantly point them out in front of a crowd.

Mikasa was generally a quick healer, but the last few vigorous training sessions she had with Kenny before they left for this mission had exhausted her enough to slow down her body's usual healing speed. She felt a little sick, just remembering how much he pushed her during then.

"Sorry. I seemed to have crossed a line." Annie sighed, taking a step back to give her some space. "I don't know much about what's Hizuru doing ever since the war. But your arm at least tells me that they must have put you through some form of tough training, and maybe have a fighting style passed down in your royal bloodline—like me. And maybe even have this fighting style taught to your own military. Am I right?"

"Yes… you're right." Mikasa said, because she couldn't think of any other lie and reason for her fading scars on the spot. "But I don't want to fight you. You can spar with one of Prince Eren's guards." She repeated. She wasn't looking for a fight that could result in more open wounds and… more blood exposed to her eye.

"I've beaten the regular guards before. The royal elite guards are elsewhere on duty." Annie remarked, "Besides…since you admitted to Hizuru having its own fighting technique passed down in its royal family and military, I want to test my technique with yours. I'm curious and I want a challenge. It's important to know how strong other nations are, Princess Mikasa Azu. So other nations can improve to that strength, in case of a war, you know." _Just what was she hinting at?_

"Besides, everyone's curious too." She said as she gestured to the crowd that encircled them, looking at them, Mikasa specifically, with unduly inquisitive eyes. And Mikasa hated the fact that some of them nodded in agreement to Annie's statement. "Right now, you're the only one who can represent Hizuru's strength and whatever fighting technique your ancestors passed down to you."

Mikasa's eyes narrowed. She could see what Annie was doing. If she refused, everyone's suspicion on her and Hizuru would increase since they would think Hizuru was hiding something due to her unwillingness to display some of Hizuru's fighting techniques or whatever of that sort.

She was cornering her into accepting her request for a spar.

"Hizuru isn't planning on waging a war." Mikasa reassured, but she knew that much wasn't enough to extinguish the curiosity of the others that surrounded them about her newly blossomed lie of Hizuru's passed down fighting techniques. "And I'm not even in a proper attire to spar."

She glanced towards Eren's advisors, to see them awfully interested in the spar Annie suggested to her. Of course they'd want to know more about Hizuru, and their military and soldier's strengths—their supposed fighting techniques. It was expected. They probably wanted to see if their position as the strongest nation (military-wise) would be threatened.

After all, if she could beat Annie (who claimed to have beaten most of Paradis's regular guards before and whose nation was only second to Paradis in regards to military/fighting strength), naturally they'd think Hizuru's military were as strong as or stronger than her.

Except, Annie wasn't challenging Hizuru's strength—but an _Ackerman_. An Ackerman who had an incredibly, hideously unpredictable bloodlust. "You can change." Annie said, giving a shrug, "Unless, I could ask your guard instead. He is part of your military, isn't he?"

But Levi wasn't there. For all Mikasa knew, he was probably still sneaking around—or worse, in some place he shouldn't be. She knew that if she told her that he wasn't here, but in the library, not only would Eren's advisors and the others be suspicious of a guard pretty much abandoning his post but also if they were to search the library and find that Levi was not there because he wandered off elsewhere, they'd see her as a liar_._ The Prince—the person who she was supposed to get close to—would see her as a liar, and have even more reason to distrust her. For all she knew, they'd ship her back to her homeland Hizuru or throw her behind bars if she raised anymore suspicion that could warrant her as a spy.

Mikasa didn't even want to think about the other consequences.

Annie had her cornered, alright.

"Speaking of your guard," She continued, "Wher—"

"Fine." Mikasa resigned, cutting her off. "I'll… spar with you." The moment those words left her lips, she could already feel the regret and reluctance accumulating within her. For one thing, there was her bloodlust to be extremely worried about.

Granted, the last time Kenny taunted her with the sight of blood, her bloodlust hadn't awaken to the horrid sight, nor did it break out when she showed a little violence to that guard earlier or when she tended to Armin's wounds. So, sparring with her should be okay, right?

Mikasa couldn't say for sure. After all, her bloodlust was the most unstable and unpredictable among the remaining Ackermans.

* * *

_And upon entering her lair, did Levi's eyes widened at the shit he saw. Not literal shit, but it was enough to disgust him to the point where he felt bile rising up to his throat. He felt some irritation bubbling as well._

_"What the fuck." He cursed._

Right before his eyes, was one of the messiest, dirtiest and filthiest room he ever saw in his twenty-four years of living. And given the fact he practically lived in a shit-hole in those twenty-four years—that was saying _a lot_.

It was a relatively small lair. There was a table in front with several yellow-paged books spread all over—_messed up_ all over on it. It made him wonder what the point was of having a bookshelf next to the table, but even that bookshelf was ridiculously untidy with even more outrageously dusty books.

Along with these books were also a bunch of crinkled papers scattered everywhere from the table to the ground. There were other shockingly less crumpled papers too, with a variety of sketches ranging from weapons to flowers to the most illegible handwriting pinned against the worn-down walls. There were cupboards too. Cupboards with cobwebs on every single corner. He didn't even want to know what was inside.

Not to mention, the smell of this place. _It reeked._

"Sorry, it's not usually this messy. But I had been too busy with some projects to clean." She chuckled, having taken notice of the look of pure disgust written all over the male's face. She grabbed the books off of Levi's hands and placed them on her desk, worsening the mess.

Levi recalled that Kenny mentioned something along the lines that the lair could only be directly accessed by the royalty of Paradis. Perhaps his information was wrong, and that trusted advisors like her had direct access too. But Kenny was barely wrong about intel. Aside from that, there was something in his gut that told him that this wasn't the place Kenny was referring to. And he had to confirm this gut feeling of his, somehow.

Though, he wondered what the hell that particular customer wanted so much from the lair. Hell, in the first place it was beyond his comprehension why Kenny even accepted this customer's request…unless, _he was the customer._ It was a thought that briefly crossed his mind, never dwelling too long. It just didn't make sense for the man who always warned them to avoid royal affairs and had avoided royal affairs himself to suddenly grow so interested in them. Then again, nothing ever made sense with that old man. He kept too many secrets, and it was a pain in the ass to even try and figure him out.

"Do… all advisors have their personal lairs?" Levi queried carefully, taking a step closer to one of the papers pinned against the walls. It had an odd-looking flower sketched onto it, with the capitalized word 'POISONOUS' written next to it. Though, if anything, the most poisonous thing that Levi had encountered so far was this shitty lair. The stench of this place seemed so toxic, he could've sworn it was trying to choke him.

"Hm? No." She replied as she opened a book, flipping it around, trying to find a specific page. "I didn't start out as an advisor, actually. I started out as Paradis's scientist. I mean, there are some scientists out there that aren't _solely_ working here, and have their own lair somewhere but eh… well, I just conduct some private experiments for the advisors and royal stuff. And then I soon became Prince Eren's private doctor since I studied medicine too. All this work… I swear I am underpaid!" She exclaimed dramatically before heaving an overdramatic sigh. _What a chatty woman._ Levi noted.

"I was only appointed as an advisor because I'm probably the only adult Eren listens to." She gave a half-hearted laugh towards the end, taking one of the several crinkled papers laying on her desk, scribbling something new.

"…So, you're a…'Scientist'?" Levi said as he arched a brow. He took another glance of this place, and then another. This putrid place was anything but a scientist's lair, that's for sure.

"I know it's hard to believe, since you can hardly call this a lair." She said as if she read his mind. "But yeah. I conduct experiments here every now and then, all of the materials I need are in those cupboards. The awful stench you're smelling was the remains of my previous experiment." She added on. Levi didn't even want to know what that experiment was. "A bigger place would be nice, and I did have one… but I might have accidentally set my old lair on fire."

Why wasn't Levi surprised?

Well, at least he could confirm that this was probably not the lair that customer was referring to. Unless it was the one that Hanji was referring to; the one that burnt into utter flames. Most likely, that lair that that customer wanted contained important information of some sort. Dirt on the royal family? Blackmail? Levi didn't know. Aside from research papers and science books, there didn't seem to be anything worth noting. He would have to ask Kenny to give a better emphasis on what lair he wanted them to find when he had the chance.

"Armin was so angry when he found out, because he was doing his own personal research about plants. His anger was nothing compared to the other advisors though…" Hanji shook her head at that memory.

"Armin…?"

"Oh, my apprentice. He started out as a gardener here but I soon found out that he has a rather bright and intelligent mind so I—"

"Okay." Levi stopped her. He didn't need someone's long backstory. He needed information about the actual lair. And if he wasn't going to find it in this shitty, rotting 'lair' then he would definitely love to leave no—

"You look like you want to kill something." Hanji said jokingly. "You still have that disgusted look on your face. Does this place appal you so much? It isn't _that _messy."

'_It isn't that messy.'_ Levi didn't wish to know or witness her own definition of messy. The idea that a room could be messier than this horrified him.

"There could be a dead rat here and I wouldn't be surprised." He deadpanned and was then caught off guard when she chuckled in response. "True, true. What a clean-freak Hizuru has for a guard." She teased.

Levi flinched. _Clean-freak._ She wasn't the first one to call him that. "Tch. I am _not _a clean-freak. You're just a filth-freak." He retorted, eying at the rubbish with repulsion.

Hanji only tossed up her hands in the air defensively. "Okay, okay. You got me there. But I swear, it really isn't usually this messy in here! You're overreacting." She huffed, and Levi shot her a look that was something mixed between doubt and a glare. "I'm not lying!" She remarked upon noticing the doubt in his eyes that only intensified after her remark, so did his glare.

"Gee, stop with that murderous look. Don't kill a poor woman like me over this mess." She joked before continuing, "Jokes aside, you seem like a nice guy. I really hope Paradis and Hizuru can establish good relations." She smiled, and while Levi didn't think too much about her grim jokes, he found himself bewildered at her presumed impression on him. _This woman was…odd._

_Nice._ That was something Levi didn't expect to leave her lips. He didn't expect an advisor to talk so informally either. But then again, they were behind closed doors, and judging from what she told him earlier, it didn't seem like she even wanted to be an advisor. If anything, the role of an eccentric scientist suited her more. "I just called you a shitty filth-freak and you're calling me nice?" He responded flatly, knitting his brows together.

She shrugged. "I mean… fair enough, ya know? I called you a clean-freak." She pointed out. "Besides, even after all your repulsive and murderous looks, I'm still alive, aren't I?" She laughed a little. "Plus, I'm sure the last thing Hizuru wants to do is to be on bad terms with Paradis and other nations that are on our good terms."

"Yeah…" Levi muttered as he walked over to her, unavoidably stepping on the pieces of paper that pretty much made up of the flooring. And he finally had enough. "That aside, it wouldn't hurt to clean this shit now. There could seriously be a dead rat in here." He grumbled as he began to pick up the pieces of paper on the ground.

"H-Hey! You don't have to clean up for me!" Hanji said, feeling rather bad for the man who was practically cleaning a fraction of _her_ mess. She quickly walked over to him, planning to stop him. "I don't enjoy… messes." That was one way to put it.

And just before Hanji could stop him from picking up any more of her trash, something had caught his eye. His eyes widened. It was a sketch of two awfully familiar figures, wearing awfully familiar masks. There was also another more feminine figure, albeit barely sketched. "What's… this?"

"Ah!" She exclaimed, snatching the paper away from him, "I've been looking for this! I thought I threw it out!" She said in a rather celebratory way, before sighing in relief. "Oh, that's right. You're from Hizuru, I suppose you don't know them. It's sketches of the Ackermans. In short, they're wanted criminals that the Prince detests to the very core. Recently, the Commander of the Royal Guards wanted me to sketch them based on some witnesses' remarks of them, so the new recruits could recognize them a little more and hopefully take them down during their respective duties. And that," She pointed to what Levi assumed was Kenny. "He is known as The Ripper Ackerman. Named after the urban legend of The Ripper. People say he is the most vicious and merciless one. He has killed the most. He's recognizable from that cowboy hat he is wearing. But of course, doesn't mean it is any easier in catching him. A lot of people wear hats these days."

"This is the Female Ackerman, also known as the Mystery one." Hanji continued, "Never seen on the surface before. But she does exist, according to rumours from the underground that made it up to the surface. She's recognizable from her feminine body. Not much is known about her. Although, it's said that she's always accompanied by this other one." She commented, before pointing to the next sketched-out figure that was supposed to be Levi.

"The Short Ackerman. As you can tell from his name, his distinguishable trait is his height, which was what got his name. He ventures on the surface, but not as often as The Ripper." Levi forced himself not to react to that nickname he was bestowed by the surface-folk. The _Short _Ackerman. He couldn't believe that even on the surface, he was unable to escape the reality and tragedy of what was his height. But from the sketch, he swore she drew him much shorter than he actually was.

'_Shortass'_ His sister's words began to echo. He could already imagine her shitty expression if she were to find out about this.

"They're all skilled merciless killers that murder and disrupt the innocent lives of Paradis. They are the people that the Prince hopes to eradicate for the sake of peace and freedom." She summarized and before Levi could reply, she asked, "Do you hate them?"

A funny question to ask an Ackerman. Not that she would know, right?

"If what you said is true, who wouldn't hate them? So yes, I do." Levi gave her an answer that was expected of a guard from a foreign land. Even if he were to give her an answer as an Ackerman himself, it would've been the same. _Yes, I do hate myself. It's not like I fucking want to murder p—_

"Ahh… your answer is the same as the rest. Unamusing but it's not unexpected." She groaned, her head bending backwards. "… unlike many, I don't hate the Ackermans." _What?_ While Levi was immersed in shock, Hanji continued. "Ahh, I remember telling Prince Eren this and he was utterly furious. I don't blame him, but sometimes I wish that kid would listen to the whole t—"

"…Why?" He found himself asking her before he could stop himself. "They are murderers, aren't they?" He didn't understand this absurd woman at all. _Who wouldn't hate them? Who wouldn't hate him?_

They were monsters. He was a monster. He killed so many people and yet—

Hanji looked back up towards him and adjusted her glasses. With a friendly smile, she nonchalantly explained to him, "Well, I can't fully hate them. _Intrigued_ is a better word. A lot of their history doesn't make sense. There are admittedly a lot of holes and gaps in the stories I was told about them, and their feud with the royal family." She sighed, "The other advisors—who are much older, said that the Ackermans were a clan formed to disrupt Paradis's harmony and to overthrow the King. But that doesn't make sense. If it were, the Ackermans would've killed off Eren already, and unveil their masks, and then seize power through force."

'_The Ackermans were a clan formed to overthrow the King'_—that was the first time he heard of such news. Whether it was true or not only Kenny could answer. And if that was true, just how much was he hiding? Was that part of the reason why he assigned this mission to them?

"Don't get me wrong, though!" She waved her hand defensively, "Just in case you think I am mad, I haven't made any dealings with them. It is not my desire to slaughter any lives for revenge and whatnot. And by all means, I am not justifying their murders." She assured, "It's just…when you look at the documents that aren't exposed to public about Paradis's history and the history of the Ackermans and so on, you realise a lot of holes in history. Not even the commoners who lived during the time when they were more active in their murders remember what started the feud. It's like… it appeared out of nowhere."

Whatever Hanji was telling Levi about his own clan's past made him wonder just how much Kenny knew, experienced and did. He hadn't even seen the whole clan before; by the time Kenny took him away from his mother, and took him under his wing, they were all dead.

"Perhaps like Eren, maybe the Ackermans are seeking revenge for something that the past King tried to hide. Oh, but that's just a theory, I'm just curious about the Ackerman's motives. I mean, if they wanted money they could just steal from the rich rather than resort to murder... it doesn't make sense. Unless they're complete psychos…" She considered, "But then if they are why would they bother make illegal dealings rather than just start a massacre or something similarly chaotic to wreak havoc?"

"I can't fully hate what I don't know." She finally concluded.

Levi found himself at a loss of words. What the hell was he supposed to say after all that? _'Maybe the Ackermans are seeking revenge for something that the past King tried to hide.'_—those words brought back the thought of Kenny being the customer who wanted the exact location of the lair.

Before he could find himself thinking about that shitty man any further, he realised something. Granted, this four-eyed woman was a generally annoyingly chatty person when it came to these sorts of things that piqued her curiosity. _But…_

"Why are you telling me this?" He finally said.

_But why was she telling him all these things?_

He was a just stranger to her after all. It wasn't as if she figured out…

Hanji blinked her eyes before tilting her head sideways a little. "Well… I mean—"

"HANJI!" Armin yelled as he barged right into her lair unannounced before she could've given him an answer.

"Oh! Hey Armin!" She greeted with a smile, not seeming to care all too much about the interruption. "Say, Armin, can you tell my new pal here that this place isn't normally this messy?" She sighed, shaking her head as she gestured to Levi. _Pal?_ Levi frowned, _since when was this 'pal' thing established? _"He won't believe me—"

"Not… now!" He shouted, a couple of pants following after. "Princess Azu… and Princess Leonhart are… currently engaged in a fight. And… I don't think it's going to end well."

Levi's eyes widened._ What?_

* * *

Once Mikasa changed into something more suiting, it didn't take too long for their spar to start.

"A-Are you sure it's good idea, Eren? To let them fight…?" Armin whispered to the brunette anxiously.

"I mean, it's not like they're going to fight to the death." Eren remarked, his eyes fixated on their spar—specifically, on Mikasa. He was impressed by her skill, and surprised that she hadn't fallen prey to Annie. And if he had to be a little honest, he was quite envious too. "It's the first time in a while since someone managed to match Annie's pace."

"…Hanji won't be happy about this if she found out. She specifically told you that during this selection she didn't want to see any Princess getting into fights and getting injured on Paradis's grounds. The whole Princess Anais and her guard incident was bad enough already…" Armin frowned. "And you know very well that the only reason why the other advisors allowed this to continue is because they are worried if their strength is threatened. They want to see if Princess Mikasa—if Hizuru can rival our Royal Guard's strength in combat considering if she does defeat Annie then—"

"Armin, calm down." Eren had cut him off, reluctantly peeling his eyes away from their spar to face the blonde, only to be confused as to why he looked so worried. "Out of all people, you should have the most faith in Annie's strength… besides, it's a friendly spar. If things do go out of hand, I will step in."

"I know. But…" Armin bit his lip.

"But?"

"But—"

Armin's words were cut off by a loud thud sound which was caused by Annie, who successfully had Mikasa pinned down after their rather long spar. At the sight of what seemed like her victory, the ocean eyed male was about to sigh in relief, until he heard Annie's accusation, "You're holding back."

Just like that, Armin's worry was back while Eren and the others that surrounded them looked confused. _How was she holding back?_ From the perspective of those watching, Mikasa was definitely not holding back. She had dodged Annie's famously ruthless kicks while at the same time retaliating at any chance she got. There was _no_ way she was holding back.

_She was not holding back_—that was what Mikasa wanted them to believe. She wanted to fool them into thinking just that.

And yet, she was found out by her opponent.

What Annie said was true. She was holding back. She didn't mind losing. She didn't dare go all out, because a part of her was afraid that if she did, and if by some bad luck should blood spill, she wasn't sure if she could contain her bloodlust.

Blood and high-stress situations. Those were the main triggers for Mikasa—and any Ackerman in general. Except, unlike the other Ackermans who could still manage to control the demons within them when they are met with such triggers, Mikasa couldn't. It was a gamble. It was _always_ a gamble. Sometimes she could, sometimes she couldn't.

And the fact that Mikasa felt her heart physically palpitating faster than it should really wasn't helping her.

"…I'm not." She muttered, looking away from the blonde who held her down. _Breathe… breathe._ She chanted to herself internally.

"Yes you are. I'm not an idiot." Annie retorted, "I'm not even holding you down that tightly, you could overturn me if you tried. And yet, you're not even struggling." She pointed out before leaning closer to the raven's ear as she whispered, "So let loose a little bit. I want to see what monstrous strength Hizuru is capable of."

_Monstrous._ That word echoed in Mikasa's head for a bit.

Monster_._ "She… She's a monster!" She remembered someone from the past screaming that while a younger version of herself had been savouring the sight of blood pouring out from someone's head that had just been split o—

_Kill her._ A voice chime in her head.

The next thing Mikasa knew, she shoved Annie off roughly. She didn't even give her the time to get up as she forcefully grabbed both her wrists with only one of her hands, pushing them hard onto the ground.

Now, Annie was the one pinned with Mikasa sitting and putting all her weight on her stomach. Annie only smirked. "Finally you—" She started choking before she could've finished her sentence, for Mikasa had used her free hand to suffocate her.

_K…Killer intent, huh? _Annie thought when she met the raven's eyes—whose obsidian orbs changed drastically. Her eyes slowly filled itself with the look of killer intent. _I wonder if my other techniques would work on a monster like her. Who would've thought another Princess… would've been this skilled._

But Mikasa _wasn't_ a Princess. She was an Ackerman—and unfortunately for Annie, she hadn't figured out that much. And even if she did, it would probably be too late as Mikasa found herself slowly losing herself.

_Kill her before—!_

_No! Control, Mikasa… Control…_

Another spar was occurring in Mikasa's mind now. She found herself wanting to just yield and run away to cool off before _it_ worsened, but she also found herself wanting to see her die in the most gruesome way. She wanted to gouge her pair of crystal-like eyes to—

_No!_

_Deep breathes… Take… deep breathes…_

Of course it had to be when everyone was watching her, scrutinizing her that her bloodlust decided that it wanted to properly introduce itself.

_Take a deep brea—_

Her nose suddenly caught the scent of something unsettling. Blood.

She flinched in the instant she recognized that smell, and in that same instant Annie took advantage of her brief falter. The blonde managed to lift one of her legs up—which were fortunately not secured by Mikasa—to hit her unprotected back.

As a result, she winced and her hands instinctively loosened its grip on both her wrists and neck for a second—and that was all she needed. Annie's hands unhesitatingly broke free of her earlier grip. However, before Annie could've gotten the chance to retaliate, Mikasa had gotten back up and backed far, far away, covering her nose with her hand.

_That was close._ Mikasa thought, and was actually happy that she managed to break free. But the moment she felt a ravenous feeling stirring in her stomach, she knew it was too soon to be relieved.

"Ah… my hand's bleeding." Annie murmured as she stood up, her eyes grimacing at the blood dripping down from the back of her palm before at the ground where Mikasa had her wrists pinned to see a sharp rock there. _That must've scraped my skin when she pushed me down. I was careless._

"Annie!" Eren called out with his brows furrowed, walking towards her. "Enough already, you're hurt." Just as he promised Armin, he wouldn't want this 'friendly spar' to get out of hand.

"It's only a scratch. Not a lot of blood is bleeding, we can continue. I want to see if my other techniques can work on such a… monster." She said, and it was true. Not a lot of blood was bleeding out. Though, Mikasa—_Mikasa's bloodlust_— begged to differ. "Besides, your advisors want to see Princess Mikasa's—Hizuru's—combat style and strength don't they?" Annie queried as she glanced over to his advisors who nodded.

Eren bit his lip. As much as he was curious about who would win, and as much as he found himself intrigued in the way Mikasa fought, he didn't want either one of them to receive any severe injury. _If she isn't going to listen to me, then maybe she would listen to Armin…_ Eren thought.

"Oi Armin, tell your—Armin?"

He wasn't there.

_Since when did he leave? _Eren wondered. He had been too engrossed with their spar to have noticed him slip away. _Where did he go?_

"Let's continue." Annie remarked, but Mikasa didn't respond. She couldn't even hear Annie, or anyone for that matter.

She was looking down on the ground. She was forcing her eyes to remain fixated on the ground.

"Don't look at the blood. Don't look at the blood." She repeated quietly to herself as she tried to push away the urge to make more blood spill. _I don't know if I can…_

"Princess Mikasa?" Eren was the first to notice her discomfort. "Look, Annie. She didn't exactly want to fight in the first place. Let's just call it a tie before anyone—Oi!" Annie pushed herself past Eren as she cautiously approached her opponent. "She might just be feigning weakness for all you know. Never underestimate an opponent. She hasn't even surrendered." She mumbled to Eren as she took another step closer, "If you don't make the first move, I will."

The scent of blood drew closer, and no matter how tightly Mikasa pinched her nose, she could smell it.

"Annie." Eren said, more firmly now as he began to walk over to her. "Just continue it another da—"

"Prince Eren!" One of his advisors hissed as he went over to block Eren's path. "Let them continue. Princess Annie is right, it is just a scratch. Besides…" His voice went low, so only he could hear. "We need to confirm if this Hizuru Princess is stronger than Princess Annie who is _almost_ as skilled as our Royal Guards, because if that's the case, there is a possibility that her country's military is stronger than ours. And we can't let that happen—"

"_What?_ You think that's important now?" Eren couldn't believe that they had the audacity to even say that. "What kind of bullshit is that?! I don't care about that! Even if it's a scratch Annie is still injured—Hanji didn't want that. And Princess Mikasa doesn't even look well!"

"Prince Eren!" He shouted. "As a Prince you should understand that it is vital for…"

Even as all the shouting continued, Mikasa could still hear nothing. Everything was silent. Her ears only waited for the sound of blood to drip.

_Just don't look and it'll go away._ Mikasa thought to herself as her hands clenched onto her shirt. She no longer took deep breathes, in fear of inhaling the scent of the blood. Instead, she tried to hold her breath, however it just made the creeping urge to kill worsen. There was no escape.

She desperately did want to surrender. But when her lips parted, no words came out as her mind clouded with sinful thoughts. _It_ was taking control of her.

_Just don't look._ She could no longer hold herself back, or rather the heinous side of her couldn't. _Don't look. _Her head slowly tilted up. That ravenous feeling inside of her grew, craving for the sight of… _Look away! _Her eyes began to slowly look up—

— And when she finally looked up, everything became pitch black as she felt something or rather, _someone_ covering her eyes.

_Levi._ It was Levi, whose hands swiftly covered her eyes. "_Calm down._" He chided.

Meanwhile, Hanji who followed behind, immediately stood between them. "I don't know if this was meant as a friendly fight, but no matter how minor the injury, I'd like it to end here." She smiled towards Annie, before her eyes turned towards the few advisors who looked displeased at their entrance. That friendly smile soon faded as her face darkened once she looked towards the other advisors. "And as an advisor, it is our responsibility to also ensure that friendly spars do not evolve into something dangerous even if you did want to see the full potential and strength of Hizuru."

"Advisor Hanji." One of them hissed. "How do you even know if the spar was going to get dangerous? Princess Leonhart barely got injured—"

"From what I heard from my apprentice on the way here, Princess Azu didn't seem willing at all to participate in this fight. She was pressured into doing so. And none of you thought to interfere? Is that how we treat our guests?" Hanji frowned, before turning to Annie, "And Princess Leonhart, I seek your cooperation that you do not pressure anyone else into a spar."

"…My apologies." She muttered. Hanji couldn't tell if she meant it genuinely or not. It wasn't as if she could find out anyway, she was already walking off with Armin following after and then Eren.

Hanji sighed, shaking her head. "She's just the same as before…"She mumbled to herself, as she turned towards the direction where Mikasa was supposed to be with Levi. "And you—"

But they weren't there anymore, and no one knew where they went.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

I'm sorry for my inactivity. I hope this chapter isn't too long haha. I also hope this chapter isn't shit, I lost some of my motivation with writing in general due to personal stuff in real life (nothing too serious don't worry) so I hope it doesn't show here. I'm slowly getting my passion back for it, but it will take a while. I'll still try my best to give at least monthly updates for all current ongoing fanfics (But please don't expect too much, this year isn't going so great haha).

**More importantly, I felt like I wrote Kenny too harshly. So I might change some things in previous chapters SOON, but nothing too drastic don't worry!**

Thank you for reading this, feedback would be appreciated so I can get better at this. Although, I know I got to work on the length of my fanfics per chapter, I think it's too long… is it just me or?

Anyways fun fact, I re-wrote this a shit ton of times due to my dissatisfaction (Not kidding, I have more than 4-5 drafts and I have a separate file for deleted scenes that's close to 10000 words ;,))

So let me tell you what I wanted to originally write, but decided to scrap it because… reasons, lol:

Originally, it was going to be an Erwin vs Levi instead of a Mikasa vs Annie.

Mikasa and Eren were supposed to have a private breakfast session together, and get in an argument due to… stuff.

I didn't want to end the fanfic here, there was supposed to be more but it's already so long urgh… anyone got any advice how to shorten writing but still make it nice? T_T

**Once again, thank you! Please Leave A Review!**

**PS: Should I keep chapters shorter? Or is this length okay with you?**


	7. Sibling Squabble

**Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: Please read Author end notes on Update schedule.**

* * *

_Hanji sighed, shaking her head. "She's just the same as before…"She mumbled to herself, as she turned towards the direction where Mikasa was supposed to be with Levi. "And you—"_

_But they weren't there anymore, and no one knew where they went._

* * *

When night fell, Levi found himself sitting down in the dining area of the royal castle alone and drinking.

As much as he wanted to have a peaceful drink to wash away his troubles, his peacefulness was unfortunately ruined by a large group of guards—or rather, _hooligans_ as Levi rather call them— who sat not too far away from him, chugging down beer while they raved.

By now, all of the noble women were either asleep or somewhere socializing with one another, forming bonds or connections. _Or_, according to what Levi unavoidably overheard one guard shout from the other table, they were looking for the Prince who had gone missing ever since the whole sparring ordeal.

And because for the most part, the noble woman's safety during night-time was ensured by Paradis's own famously strong guards in this castle, most of their personal guards decided to take it easy that night (with permission of course).

Levi desperately wanted to sleep. It was better than staying in this noisy room filled with loud drunkards. He wanted to call it a day and go to bed. But his insomnia kicked in, coupled along with the feelings of frustration he garnered after the conversation he had with Mikasa earlier on.

His eyes exhaustively stared down at his drink, secretly hoping that if he drank a few more it'd knock him out as he didn't want to think about all those shitty, troubling things anymore. It wasn't until earlier today did he remember how tough it is to be the older brother who had to deal with Mikasa Ackerman. He closed his eyes briefly, pondering and then sub-consciously murmuring his thoughts out loud, _"Why is she so stubborn?"_

…

"What the fuck were you thinking?" was the first thing Levi said when he and Mikasa were finally alone at a secluded and quiet corner, where no one was currently around. "Fighting? With a Princess? Has being on the surface make you lose it?"

Levi looked at Mikasa dead in the eye. His face was written with nothing but pure anger, and maybe a little disappointment regarding Mikasa's poor choices which led her to be in this situation. Any form of worry that he had for her earlier when he found out about the spar had disappeared and then reappeared in his eyes as only burning fury.

And Mikasa wanted to look away, she really did. But her obstinacy and pride told her otherwise.

Because Mikasa grew up with Levi since birth, she had inevitably seen him get angry—both at her and others. Most times, she wasn't so fearful of him because at the end of the day they were siblings, _family_. But there were a few times, did his anger truly scare her _almost_ as much as how Kenny frightened her when he got angry himself.

This was one of those times. And yet, she couldn't help but retort back and defend herself.

"Armin was getting hurt. I intervened because I didn't want him to get knocked out unconscious, or have anything worse happen to him. If I had ran off and inform a guard in that moment it would've been too late to save him… and then Princess Annie…" She began to explain things to him calmly, in hopes of her brother understanding the reasoning behind her outrageously risky actions. She told him how afterward Annie forced her in a spot after all the lies she spewed. How she attracted unnecessary attention to herself. How she _didn't _have a choice—

"You _had _a choice." Levi hissed, and Mikasa found herself clenching her fist upon seeing that her explanation only added fuel to fire. "If you had just run off to inform a guard to handle the mess that Armin was in, nothing would've happened."

Mikasa frowned. _Was he not listening?_ "But if I had, he—"

"What's worse, Mikasa?" He took a step forward, towering over her. Despite being physically taller than him, she felt smaller; like she had just shrank while his intimidating presence grew. "To flee and get help for that unconscious blonde who will eventually recover—because I highly doubt people like them who want to suck up to that Prince's ass would kill his staff—or having your bloodlust awaken and end up massacring not just him but dozens of other people?"

Mikasa flinched, but forcefully stopped herself from taking a step back because when the aura around him became more intimidating. However, her stubborn resilience wasn't enough to maintain eye contact with him. She eventually looked away. "I…" She bit her lip. _Massacring._ That single word brought so back much uncountable horrors to her mind that it made it ache once again, and consequently her hand found itself pulling slightly at her hair while she tolerated the pain. "I didn't want him to get anymore hurt…" She meant to sound more fearsome and assertive when she said that, but to no avail it was weakly delivered. Because what Levi said was right. It was cruel, but he was right. Still, she couldn't find it in her heart to just not save him. Not when she…

Levi saw the hurt in her eyes the moment the word massacring left his lips, and in an instant he regretted ever mentioning it. He knew it was a sensitive topic for her, and he should've known that he shouldn't have used that word right after what was almost and could've been a bloody mess. And how she tugged at her hair didn't go unnoticed by him. But those words left his lips so suddenly, he didn't have the time to stop and think.

The last thing he needed and wanted was to be the one who would trigger her bloodlust. He would apologise to her, but right now, from his viewpoint, he wasn't the one in the major wrong. And he wanted her to learn her lesson. After all, if a similar incident occurred… and if he hadn't been there on time, the absolute hell would've happened. And then Kenny would have both their heads.

"Mikasa." Levi said, the sternness in his tone remained. He decided to steer back to the main point. "Remember your mission up here. Don't do anything more unnecessary. I can't keep saving you—"

"I never asked you to keep saving me!" Levi didn't know why she suddenly snapped. It was so abrupt, given how guilty she looked a second ago. He had thought that she realised her mistake, but apparently not. Her eyes whipped back and stared right at him, in a sort of frustration that Levi couldn't understand why. If anything, it fueled his rage as Mikasa's own voice began to raise. "I'm not a kid anymore. I'm nineteen—"

"Don't raise your voice at me. Do you not realise the fucking danger you put yourself in?" Growing up, Levi sometimes wished he could just be a brother to her. But because he was older, and because Kenny wasn't exactly the best parental figure, he had to fill up that role sometimes. And most times, he didn't understand why she'd react like this whenever a similar topic like _this_ came about. He knew his sister was anything but blind, so why did she seem so unaware of her reckless actions? Was it just some shitty teenage rebellion phase? "If you aren't a kid anymore, then grow up and stop being so reckless about your b—"

He paused when his eyes caught the faint sound of footsteps nearing them. He immediately sensed someone nearby. It didn't take long for the younger Ackerman to catch on.

It didn't take him too long to know that this wasn't the best location to discuss about Mikasa's bloodlust, her actions and her mission—their mission. "Think about what you did today." He remarked as he began to walk off, walking past her. It was best to go their separate ways for now.

And what Levi didn't see as he walked away was how she clenched her fist tighter in response to his remark that sounded like something he'd have said to her when she was five and did something childishly wrong. "I'm sorry…" She whispered so softly under her breath that Levi who was already far away from her was unable to catch, because he was too busy dealing with his own troubled thoughts.

"Who's stubborn?" A voice chirped, cutting off his thoughts about the fight he just had with his sister. "Are you talking bad about your Princess to yourself? Well, at least you aren't telling and ranting it to those drunkards over there." It was only when she peeked from behind his shoulder did his eyes open and recognize the owner of that painfully cheerful voice. "Not a fan of alcohol?" Hanji asked before taking a seat next to him.

_This woman again._ Levi thought as he sipped his lavender tea. He hadn't seen her since she interfered in Annie's and Mikasa's spar. He had spent the rest of his day taking one last look in the library and then later in his room—and now here, because no matter how much he tried his mind refused to let him rest. "I don't want to go to bed reeking of alcohol." Levi answered. It didn't take him long to be bothered by her again when he noticed how she stared at him. Or more specifically, his hand.

"You have an odd way of holding a tea cup." Hanji remarked with curious eyes, "And I find it amusing how you're ranting to yourself about Princess Mikasa. Do you not like socialising with the other guards? Even during the welcoming ball you stood all by yourself, Mr lone-wolf." She laughed lightly, almost in a teasing manner.

_Mr lone-wolf? _Levi couldn't help but scoff, and at the same time he couldn't help but be reminded of how painfully observant she was. "I'm not complaining about Princess Mikasa." It felt weird, calling Mikasa a Princess, especially when they both grew up in the same shit-hole together. But nonetheless he had an act to carry on. "And I don't find it fun to mix with drunkards." He added. He already had Kenny to deal with. He still remembered the time Kenny started training his alcohol tolerance at a way too young age. And the most haunting memory he had during that time was of an annoying, drunkard pink-faced Kenny. It was a surprise to him that he could still fight even after the countless jugs he chugged down.

"I heard you arguing with her." Hanji admitted shamelessly, and Levi somehow managed to not overreact to that statement. _So she was the one who was around? How much did she hear? I'm sure I cut it off in time before anyone could hear anything related to—_

"I don't really know what you said since by the time I got there you stormed off… all I heard were just raised, unclear angry voices." Hanji said honestly. It was the truth. Levi had been lucky enough to cut the conversation before anyone could hear the taboo words _'bloodlust'_ or _'Ackerman'_ leave either one of their lips. "And I know it's not my business and I have no right to intrude but… I don't think it's Princess Mikasa's fault for any of what happened today. Princess Annie… can be… Princess Annie sometimes." Hanji chuckled, and Levi raised a brow, not understanding what she meant by that peculiar statement since he didn't know Annie well, or at all. But she continued without elaborating much anyway, "And the other advisors… I apologise. They probably forced her into a corner. You two are strangers and are from a foreign land… I suppose they felt threatened, and like some of the other guests here… suspicious, I guess." She shrugged.

"And you're not?" Levi pointed out blatantly, arching a brow. _Was she just normally this annoying and overly friendly?_

"Nah, you or Princess Mikasa haven't done anything to warrant my suspicion. Besides, Hizuru deserves a break after all the devastation they suffered from the war… and you two deserve a break after that incident earlier." Hanji sighed and waved her hand dismissively, before adjusting her tone to something more formal, "Getting back on track… I apologise on all their behalves. So don't be too harsh on the Princess, you did mention to me she is like a sister to you during the ball, right?"

"…Yeah." Levi nodded. _She doesn't understand._ He thought, _and I don't expect her to. After all I'm an Ackerman and we are mere strangers._

_I ought to distance myself from her._ Levi thought as he slowly looked towards her. She grinned at him in response, as if to say 'happy to help'. _She's too observant, and could interfere with the mission if she gets too suspicious or even curious… but at the same time if I get close enough to her, I might find more intel. And if I do find that intel, piece up the shitty clues, then the sooner we can leave… and the less the probability of Mikasa getting hurt and her bloodlust running loose._ Levi looked away from her grin without a response, resulting in a pout from the four-eyed woman that he chose to ignore. He lifted up the cup, wanting to take another sip of tea, to only realise it was empty and that he had just finished his third cup already, and he still didn't feel tired. "Tch." He clicked his tongue. The next thing he knew, Hanji snatched his cup away from him once he placed it down.

"I'll get you some chamomile. It's late, and the last thing I want is for Hizuru's guard to look grumpier the next morning after having a rough day and night. It's the least I can do for the trouble we've caused to Princess Mikasa and yourself and maybe even Hizuru." She smiled as she stood up. Levi scoffed. _Speak for yourself, you're still awake. _He couldn't help but think. "It works better than lavender tea if you want to sleep, Mister Eye-bags."

"Same goes to you, four-eyes bag." He retaliated, noting her own eye-bags. Hanji only laughed in response, and Levi would've assumed that she was drunk too if it weren't for the fact she didn't smell of alcohol. "That's a new one. I'll get two cups then, and we can drink all our stresses away!" Levi rolled his eyes. How can this woman be so chirpy this late at night without any alcohol?

"I hope you sort things out with Princess Mikasa soon." Hanji said, this time less chirpy, as what Levi called it. "One of the maids informed me she looked so restless and unwell when she came by to check on her." She then walked off to make two cups of chamomile tea.

* * *

Mikasa laid restlessly on the bed. Despite the softness of the mattress and pillows and the comfort of the fluffy blanket it provided her with, she didn't feel any less bad about the argument she had with Levi.

"_I never asked you to keep saving me!"_

It came out so instinctively before Mikasa could even stop herself. Granted, she was indeed thankful for Levi always being there for her. But there came a point where she got tired of it; got tired of burdening Levi with the responsibility of handing her bloodlust.

It was _her_ bloodlust, and she wanted to be the only one to carry on the burden of this monstrous, uncontrollable curse. _It should be my burden alone_, she thought.

Her eyes trailed down to her hands, and for a split second she saw blood on it. An image from her past trauma.

_Massacre._ The word echoed around her mind. _Just how many innocent lives did I… take that day? Why does it have to be me to have the uncontrollable bloodlust? Why do the Ackermans even have to be cursed with bloodlust in the first place?_

She bit her lip and then slowly sat up. Her eyes then averted away from her dirty hands and towards the unlocked window where the moonlight shone through. _The moon looks a lot prettier on the surface._ She observed.

After the whole sparring incident with Annie, most of the events today were cancelled—mostly because Eren was nowhere to be seen afterwards when he walked off with Armin and Annie. And the advisors that had contributed to the mess were forced to have a meeting with Advisor Hanji regarding their actions, so they couldn't find it in their schedule to search for Eren and drag him back. At least, that's what the maid informed Mikasa when she entered her room to check on her.

Since everything was cancelled, and Eren was nowhere to be seen, she saw no point of leaving her room. The thought of sneaking around did occur to her, to maybe help Levi in his search. Because he was right. They were still on a mission that they had to complete.

But the last thing she wanted was to make two mistakes in a day. And she needed time to cool off anyway, which led her to just resting in the room for the rest of the day.

Even though she 'relaxed' in her room, the guilt regarding the whole argument she had with Levi weighed on her, and she found herself to be restless.

And she found it stupid. She found it _so_ stupid that despite the fact that she acknowledged what Levi had said or rather implied that it would've been better to let Armin be knocked unconscious as opposed to risking her bloodlust to go wild—she still would've saved Armin all over again if she could reverse back time.

To top it off, she felt no regret in saving Armin despite the risk.

Mikasa never expected Levi to understand why she felt so miserable and reluctant when he'd always help her and come to her rescue. Admittedly, she never really had an actual meaningful discussion about it to him, because either way Kenny would make sure someone would be there to monitor and save her in case she spiralled out of control and she didn't want to give him more burden by venting out all her emotions to him and—

It was all just a mess.

She also felt angry. She felt so angry at herself. She spent so many exhausting days and nights training… and she still couldn't properly control her bloodlust.

"_I should've killed her back then…"_—Kenny had said it himself. And Levi defended her. She was his greatest burden and responsibility and yet he defended her back then, and she knew he would still do the same now. But why?

She wondered if her mother—Kuchel—even wanted her. Kenny had told her she had passed away not too long after her birth due to some form of disease. Was her birth unplanned? Hell, in the first place…

"…why was _I _born? I—"

A knock on the door interrupted her soft muttering.

"Is this Princess Mikasa Azu's room?" She recognized the voice, but refused to believe that he was the owner. Why would he even visit her, especially at this time?

"Yes." She answered nonetheless, before straightening herself and her messy hair. "May I come in?"

And after giving her next 'yes', the owner of the voice entered her room and she still was in disbelief.

It was Eren Jaeger. The Prince.

He entered her room before quietly closing the door. Mikasa's eyes looked him up and down, to see that he seemed rather… frazzled and messy. And if anything, she swore there was a mini twig in his hair. She would've shrugged it off as her tired eyes just fooling her if she hadn't noticed a small stain of mud on his shirt. _Was he in the forest or something? Was that why no one could find him? _She pondered.

"Hey…" He said a little awkwardly as he made his way towards her.

"Hello." Mikasa greeted back as he watched the male make his way in front of her, leaning against the window, partially blocking the moonlight. "What… brings you here?" She asked. It was late at night, what could he possibly want with her?

"Eh… Well…" He said as he scratched the back of his head—and the twig still stubbornly remained in his messy hair, unmoving. She wondered if he knew it was there, and if not, whether she should tell him. But before she could consider any further, he continued to speak. "I want to apologise… on Annie's behalf for pushing you today. You looked… uncomfortable."

Mikasa found it ironic how he was apologising to her, and not Annie herself. He didn't have any fault in this after all. But at this point, she didn't know whose fault it was or who she could blame for the mess she was in, the mess she was placed in since birth. "No, no. It's fine." Mikasa quickly assured, albeit she found it odd for him to come into her room this late at night to tell her just this. He could've done it tomorrow morning. Then again, would he even have the chance? The event was still going to continue anyway. "Is that… all?"

Eren shook his head a little. "No. I also want to thank you personally." Mikasa tilted her head. _Thank me? For what?_

"I… had the wrong idea about you. I thought you wanted to… suck up to me and get close to me like the rest just for the title of 'Queen of Paradis'." He started, his eyes tracing down to the ground. Mikasa couldn't help but find his statement half-inaccurate. She did want to get close to him, for reasons much worse than what he said. But of course, she couldn't correct him on that.

"You helped my friend today. Coming from a foreign land that has closed its doors and lived in isolation, I assumed you wouldn't do anything out of line that had a possibility of badly tainting your country's name or cause bad relations with other nations. Or maybe you could've went to inform a guard so you could avoid being tangled in such a mess—but by then I'm sure Armin would've… been more injured than he already is. So I didn't expect for you to… intervene in the trouble Armin found himself in. Not to mention, you even took it upon yourself to bandage him immediately when you could've just send him off to the infirmary…You had nothing much to gain from saving him. And yet you did it, you risked yourself of getting hurt to help him. Not a lot of the other guests here would've done the same thing… they're all too busy trying to sway me to notice someone in need of help." He scoffed.

"So thank you." Eren said, slowly looking back up towards her. "…And also one more thing—" He paused half-way, surprised and concerned of the first sight he saw when he made eye-contact with her. "Are you… crying?"

"Huh?" Mikasa murmured, finally taking notice of the tears fogging up her eyes, soon to leak. "Oh- I…" she immediately looked away, wiping them away as she simultaneously faked a realistic sneeze. "Dust. It's the dust and the dirt..." And honestly, Mikasa hadn't expect for Eren to believe her. However, given the fact he had just returned from the forest, and was admittedly a little dirty, he thought she was speaking truth. What else could be the reason? Who would cry in this situation? "Ah, sorry. I just returned from… outside. I wanted to talk to you before the night got any later. I doubt I could have any normal conversation anytime soon, I'm pretty sure my advisors had devised some crappy plan tomorrow…" He grumbled.

For a fleeting moment when Eren had elaborated his thanks, she couldn't help but feel bad. She realised how hypocritical she was. She more or less saved someone, sure. But at the same time, she was here to find some secret lair, and maybe even steal some information… and for all she knew it could be used against Eren and the person she saved.

She didn't deserve his thanks. For heaven's sake, she was an Ackerman. She came from a clan supposedly responsible for his parents' death. And here she was, receiving the son's thanks.

She felt touched, because after Levi's reprimand, his thanks was... nice. It made her feel a little bit better. But at the same time, her guilt overweighed the _touch_ she felt, and for a brief second she doubted her ability to even finish this mission.

But then she remembered that she was an Ackerman who was stripped of any sane choice since birth. And that she had to complete this mission, because she didn't want her brother to face the consequence of her failure. He had suffered enough because of her.

"What was… the other thing?" She asked, looking back towards him once she was sure she cleared herself of all tears.

"Ah, yeah… I'll make it quick, I don't want to worsen your allergy." It still surprised Mikasa that he believed her lie about the dust. "It's just… been a while since I last saw someone be able to… keep up with Annie. I mean my royal Azker guards probably could but…they're too busy to train me." Mikasa didn't know where this was leading to. And if anything, she grew even more surprised at how bashful he slowly became as he continued to speak. It was a drastic contrast to his angry and irritated demeanour he showcased to the noble woman during the ball and in the morning.

"Training with Annie… didn't really help me much. Besides she has been busy with other things lately… And when you sparred with Annie, I couldn't help but admire your skill. So, I was wondering… if you'd mind sparring with me. Training, you know?" He finally admitted his request, "It doesn't have to be now when all this marriage arranging thing is going on… but then again, I wouldn't mind sneaking off." Eren definitely would much rather sneak off to train and face the consequences later as opposed to searching for his future wife. That much was obvious to Mikasa—his disinterest in romance, that was. "Would that be okay?" The hope that glittered in his eyes for her to say yes was obvious to Mikasa as well.

By right, after Levi's reprimand, she knew she should consult him about this first—especially when it involved sparring, _fighting_. At the same time, this was her chance at getting close to the Prince. Besides, she doubted sparring with him would be as painful and stressful as the one she had with Annie, right?

As harsh as it sounded, from the spar she saw him engaged in with Annie, she highly doubted someone as careless as him—who could seemingly only manage the basics of hand-to-hand combat—would give her any trouble that'd lead her to triggering her bloodlust… even if it was unpredictable and unstable.

_But… I should consult Levi first, right?_ She thought. _I could… say yes to him after I tell—_

"Actually… never mind. Forget it, it's fine." Eren suddenly said upon noticing her hesitance and the look of contemplation she had. "I have troubled you enough." He spoke, as he pushed himself off against the wall. _I shouldn't force her._ He thought. _She's probably tired. And besides we're strangers, plus I was rude to her the other day… why would she even say yes? _He scoffed at himself.

However before he could make his way to the exit, Mikasa quickly stood up and reached for his arm, grabbing it lightly. And in the heat of the moment, she agreed. "No, its fine. Sorry, I'm just…a little hazy. It's late." She said, "Sure. I'll train with you." _Levi was going to kill her once he found out, Mikasa was sure of it._

Eren's eyes widened in excitement, and for the first time since being here, did she see a genuine smile form on his face. "That's great!" He exclaimed elatedly. "With your help… maybe I can finally be closer to beating Annie and then…" That smile faded to a grim look, "…and then those bastard Ackermans." Mikasa slowly loosened her grip on his arm and nodded. "Yeah." She found it so ironic. She was going to help this man kill her and the remains of her clan that were supposedly responsible for his parents' murder, and at the same time she was going to rob this man of the secrets stored at his hidden lair that could possibly be used against him by Kenny's customer.

_What a cruel and twisted world._

"…Anyway, I'm sorry for interrupting you this late. I didn't even think you'd be awake." He apologised after regaining his composure.

"No, it's fine." She assured. "I… nothing new. Royal duties in my homeland tend to keep me up this late, and I… am just adjusting to this new land, so it'll take me a while to finally sleep."

"Is that so?" Eren spoke and Mikasa nodded. "Well… I better get going… wouldn't want the dirt on me to make your nose and eyes any more uncomfortable."

"Yeah…—" The sudden creaking sound of the window caught her attention. Her head turned towards it and her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she saw the window slightly more opened. And upon a certain realisation, she felt her stomach drop just a little.

"Something wrong?" Eren asked, tilting his head. Mikasa turned back towards him and offered the most reassuring look she could garner at that moment. "Yeah…" She took a step forward, her hand reaching out to his hair to swiftly pluck the twig out of his hair. "Sorry, this had been bothering me when you first stepped it." It wasn't really a lie.

Eren's embarrassment indicated by how his expression changed into a more flustered one told Mikasa that he hadn't been aware of the twig that had been stuck in his hair. It amused her. She hadn't expect for Eren's reaction to be like that, not when he seemed rather indifferent during this whole marriage event; and not when the dominant emotion she had mostly seen him express thus far was pure, burning anger.

He swiftly turned around and made his way to her door. "Goodnight." was the last thing he said before he exited her room without waiting for a response.

Mikasa sighed softly. _Who'd have known that he would've been easily embarrassed by having a twig in his hair… _she thought to herself as she made her way towards the window, her eyes briefly fixated on the twig, and then the moonlight.

"He's gone." She said, before tossing the small twig onto the ground. "I know you're there. There's no sign of wind." She added a she thought back to the creaking sound of the window.

"Good to know my niece still has some instincts." was the first thing Kenny said as he entered her room through the window he pushed open. And when Mikasa finally made eye contact with him, she felt fear stirring within. _Why is he here? Did Levi… tell him already? _Mikasa didn't know what to think as Kenny walked towards the raven who now stood as straight as how a soldier would, his foot mercilessly crushing the twig that had been tossed aside. How did he even manage to infiltrate the Castle without anyone noticing?

"I hope 'yer not getting too carried away with this royal life…" He commented before taking a glance around the room, and sneered at the opulence it screamed. Meanwhile, Mikasa wondered just how much he had overheard her and Eren's conversation. "And I hope 'yer not falling for that Prince." He joked ever so crudely.

* * *

Once Eren left her room, he began to walk off towards the direction of his room at a fast pace. For one thing, he didn't want to be caught by a guard who'd question the truth of his absence, if they had indeed saw through Jean's cover-up story.

Fortunately for him, he was stopped—but not by a guard.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about." Annie sighed, her eyes peeling away from Armin and to Eren. "And I see that you still look like a mess."

Eren was surprised by their sudden appearance, but before he could question them on that, he had more important things he wanted to be answered for first. "Why didn't you tell me there was a twig in my hair? Was that why you two called my hair a bird's nest and laughed when we were outside earlier?" Eren frowned, and Annie rolled her eyes. "It still looks like a bird nest." She remarked in a nonchalant way that would've irritated Eren, resulting in a light-hearted insulting contest… except, he was too tired from all the events that occurred today to even react.

"You could've at least told me before I went to visit her." He sighed.

Annie arched a brow. "Since when did you care for appearance? Oh- wait. Don't tell me you—"

"I _don't_. But I don't want to like a fool with a bird nest hair when I'm talking to someone new, especially when I'm asking for a favour. Not to mention, apologising on your behalf." He silently groaned and Annie shrugged, not really caring all too much. "That aside, what are you two doing here? I thought you two were going to wash up?"

"We _were_ heading to our shower headquarters… that was, until Armin here got paranoid of leaving you alone with Princess Mikasa." Annie said, and Eren frowned.

"What did you think I was going to do?" He asked, sounding a little disappointed in his friend's doubts. Before Armin could say anything, Annie helped him answer… sort of. "You should know he wouldn't try anything funny. The idea of him even _flirting_ with—"

"_Stop._" Eren groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. The idea of him flirting made him internally cringe himself. "Armin… why?"

"I… thought you might say something offensive, resulting in a fight between you and Princess Mikasa." He laughed nervously, turning around. "We should go clean ourselves up now, before a guard walks by and picks up on the stench." Armin said.

"How little faith do you have in me, Armin?" Eren sighed, shaking his head as he started to walk.

"Can you really blame him? And if that had happened, you wouldn't stand a chance against her." Annie spoke as she followed behind, and Eren flinched. He was too tired to receive any more insults. "Armin, tell your _girlfriend_— Armin?"

The two turned, to see that despite initiating to quickly leave and wash up, Armin was moving quite slowly, his mind seemingly deep in thought. "Armin?" Annie called, her tone soft. And Armin finally snapped out of it. "What's wrong—"

"Nothing." He answered immediately as he caught up to them, laughing lightly. "It's nothing. I'm just tired." And before Eren and Annie could further question his odd behaviour, Armin managed to change the topic. "Anyway, Eren… you ought to thank Jean for managing to convince the other guards to not drag you back… and I agree with Annie, the idea of you flirting is—"

"_Stop._" Eren urged again as another groan escape their lips.

As Annie and Eren continued their ramble, Armin took one last discreet glimpse towards the direction of Mikasa's room. And a small, soft and unnoticeable sigh of relief escaped his lips.

* * *

The following day, the first thing Eren was greeted by early in the morning was the sound of the doors being loudly slammed open. "EREN!" It was Jean, and just the volume of his yell was enough to send the Prince shooting right up.

"Horseface…?" Eren grumbled out tiredly, a yawn escaping his lips. "Why the hell are you shouting so early in th—"

"IT'S THE ACKERMANS! THEY ATTACKED LAST NIGHT!"

* * *

**Author's note:**

**_NEXT UPDATE: End may-June_**

I'm sorry that I can't update next month. Long (sob) story short, school is extremely stressful, more than I can ever imagine. I don't even know if I can update during the stated update date, but I'll try :,D

If i ever disappear for too long and didn't update for a long while, you can check on / message me on my tumblr: rosaline-kei

I hope this chapter was okay. I hope Eren didn't seem out of character ;-;

Anyway, I want to thank those who left a review/comment/constructive criticism. It means a lot! :)

**_Please Leave A Review! Constructive Criticism would be great :) I would love to hear your thoughts!_**


	8. Filler Chapter: Height

**Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.**

_**A/N: PLEASE READ END NOTES. CONCERNS FUTURE CHAPTER(S) AND POSSIBLE FUTURE WARNINGS.**_

A/N 2: This is a filler chapter.

* * *

_Synopsis: Once upon a time, deep in the underground shit and hell-hole, before the bloodlust-ing Ackermans ever found themselves entangled and caught in the mess of Royal Affairs, Levi Ackerman was once taller than his younger sister, Mikasa Ackerman._

_A glimpse into the childhood of the Ackermans, where there were moments not always covered with blood._

* * *

"What are you doing, brat?" was the first thing a ten year old Levi spat when he saw his sister younger than him by five years standing on a few books that were stacked up on a stool, tip-toeing as her small little hands reached out, trying its hardest to grab the knob of the cupboards on top. But alas, to no avail, she was still _too short. _

Startled by Levi's unexpected early return, she nearly fell but somehow managed to regain her balance swiftly; perhaps the Ackerman reflex was just natural. She turned to face her stoic faced brother who looked unimpressed by whatever antics she was trying to pull. "Um… getting something, what else?" She tried to reason, a nervous chuckle leaving her lips. But Levi's unimpressed expression only worsened as a glare was added into the equation.

"Get down now, carefully." He instructed with an authoritative tone clear in his voice. _Were all five-year olds just naturally like this? _He wondered. He wouldn't know, because given how he lived his life before he met his sister, before he moved in with Kenny, he couldn't remember being happy as he watched his mother grow weak and weaker. Kenny had taken him away before he could see her body finally give up; it was his mother's wish. She had escaped death's grasp a couple of times, but when things regarding her health became more uncertain, she wished for Kenny to take her son away because she didn't want him to watch her die if it was truly her time to depart from the cruel world.

But now he had a sister, as lively as ever because she was yet to see and understand the curse that the Ackerman clan was bestowed with and while Kenny hadn't really been around to raise her, Levi was there, nurturing her like any caring older brother would.

She was yet to undergo the strenuous and military-like regime Kenny had placed Levi on when he deemed him old enough to start training. She was yet to experience the epitome of what made an Ackerman; the Bloodlust breakout.

However, she was still young, and Kenny was gracious enough not to mess her psychological state of mind just _yet_. As for Levi, he avoided topics and questions that she had when it came to his trips and trainings.

Mikasa was the only thing his mother had left him with—aside from the torn and old clothing she gave him. He recalled the day Kenny brought Mikasa home. It had almost been a full year since he last saw his mother.

She was dirty and wailing in the blanket that wrapped around her small, delicate body. While he was graced by a new living being under the Ackerman household, Kenny then informed him of his mother's passing. "She died…" He said and paused contemplatively, looking away, sounding bitter. _"…and left yer' with a sister."_ He said after a momentary pause, bitterness intensifying in his tone for reasons Levi couldn't understand. And that was the last time in a long while since Kenny ever brought Kuchel up.

While he didn't particularly mind his sister's cheerfulness and activeness, he couldn't help but ponder if she would remain the same as she was once her innocence was tainted. Once she truly understood how terrible and awful living in the underground was. She had been sheltered by Levi for so long, her innocence safeguarded. It was only in due time would she see the ugliness; that is the shit-hole they lived in. He couldn't protect her forever.

_But right now, he…_

"You're going to fall if you don't get down, now." Levi added, shaking his head.

Mikasa frowned. "I am not—" Perhaps her Ackerman balance and reflex hadn't fully developed yet, as just as those words left her lips, the poor-quality stool began to wobble. And to her unluckiness, she lost balance and was about to crash onto the hard, woody ground—until, Levi caught her.

And while Levi was concerned for her, and felt a surge of worry run in his veins as he watched her fall, his glare didn't take too long to return when he looked down to see his sister nervously chuckling, avoiding any form of eye contact.

He placed her down, and then crossed his arms. Sometimes he wondered if he was her brother or her father. He didn't say anything, but given the fact that Mikasa had been living with him for five years now, she was already familiar with his grumpy look of his. He was expecting an explanation.

Mikasa hid her hands behind her back, her eyes averting away to the ground. "…I didn't think you'd come home this early from your trip with Kenny… and whenever you do you always looked tired so…" She began to confess and sighed, "I wanted to make you a cup of tea like how you had always done so for me."

Levi's eyes widened in surprised, he hadn't expected that answer. He'd have assumed she had let her curiosity and mischief run wild, resulting in her ransacking their current house—their hideout for whatever sparked her curiosity. His eyes then relaxed and soften, as he let out a resigned sounding sigh. He couldn't exactly get mad at her for that. He squatted down to her height, his hand reaching out and tilted her chin upwards so she could face him. She looked a little nervous, because sometimes his reprimands can be a little harsh when she was really in deep trouble, but it was for her own good. Because while Levi called her a brat, he didn't want her to actually turn out as one when she grew up. "You didn't have to do that." He murmured softly, deciding to forego his sternness for now seeing that she hadn't exactly broke anything anyway.

"What if you broke something? You know Kenny would be pissed, more than I would be." _What if you had found something that Kenny didn't want you to see?_—was what Levi wanted to say instead, because for reasons unknown to Levi, his crazed Uncle was a private person, keeping secrets and avoiding questions that Levi had asked him before about the Ackermans and other late relatives. And he already had a brief taste of what it was like if one dared let curiosity run too wild. Otherwise, Kenny didn't really give too much shits (unless he was in a sour mood), if Mikasa had broken something unimportant. At most he might chide her, if he wasn't too exhausted from his… excursions.

"Yeah…" Mikasa nodded. "I just wish I was taller." She murmured, as Levi stood back up. "Like you."

Levi raised a brow. "Like me?" Sure, he was taller than her but his height was nothing compared to Kenny's, who stood around six foot tall.

"Yes!" Mikasa nodded, as she found herself on the tip of her toes again when she noticed Levi's anger dissolve, and it didn't seem like he was going to scold her anytime soon. "Even when I tip-toe, I can't even reach your height." She pouted out her cheeks slightly, before her eyes wandered about, before settling at a rusty mirror that leaned against a wall. She walked towards it with a sigh. "Do you think I stopped growing already?" She asked innocently, her eyes scanning her reflection as Levi approached her from behind, a scoff leaving his lips.

"You're only five." He reminded the child. "And I'm only ten. We're still going to grow taller." Levi said.

"Ehhh…" The five-year old childishly huffed, as if impatient already. "Do you think… I'll be taller than you?" She asked, turning her head to face him a little as she shot a smug grin. The thought of her, the younger sibling, growing taller than the older one excited her.

Levi scoffed in a mocking way, before ruffling and messing her hair. "Hey! Quit I—"

"Fat chance. That isn't happening, brat." Levi replied. There was no way she was going to be taller than him, ever, _right? _He was older than her after all. By five years. Would genetics really betray him?

"You never know…" Mikasa grumbled as she struggled to fix her now messy hair. "I could grow taller than you in a week…"

"Ho? Really?" Levi said, amused with her imagination before an idea struck him. "Let's see how fast you grow then." He said as he stepped away from the mirror, walking towards the small, open kitchen as he took one of the shorter kitchen knives before making his way back, albeit he approached the empty wooden wall beside the mirror.

Mikasa eyed him, unsure of what he planned to do with the kitchen knife as she walked over to him when he had signalled her over. She wasn't terrified though, even if she noticed how he held the kitchen knife with such familiarity, before he carved a small line into the wall after he measured his height against it. And she would've asked why he held the knife so familiarly, if she wasn't distracted by his idea that he displayed to her.

Automatically as if she knew what he was doing despite the lack of verbal communication, she stood up straight, right up against the wall before Levi cautiously carved another line onto the wall, just a centimetre above her head before marking and labelling it with a _"M"_ beside it, and then an _"L"_ beside his.

Once he was done, Mikasa stepped away and was a little discouraged by their current large height difference, but she wasn't going to give up. Like Levi said, she was still growing.

"My line and height will surpass yours." She challenged as her gaze focused on her brother who only shrugged. "We'll see." He responded before he returned to the kitchen. He did think she'd grow taller eventually, but not taller than him. Again, there was absolutely no way… right?

"Now come on, brat." He sighed as he placed the knife down, after rinsing it of course. And while he had his backed turned and facing her, and had a tone that sounded nothing more than plain and monotonous, she could have sworn he was smiling, just a bit. She had caught a small glimpse of it before he turned his back completely. She could only wonder why her grumpy brother smiled. "You want to make tea, right?"

Years had passed since then, and when Kenny finally exposed Mikasa to how ruthless the world is, how sinful the underground was, she became less cheerful for the innocence Levi once protected had finally shattered. And as for their height-taking, it eventually came to an abrupt halt when their lives as murderers became more hectic, more tragic.

Now today, Kenny was waiting outside, taking a smoke as he waited for the two of them to finish preparing themselves. Mikasa had just turned sixteen not too long ago, and with her bloodlust that had awakened terrifyingly early, Kenny wanted to check if his recent training sessions with her, and Levi's attempts with training her control as well, had worked. Or to see if he needed to intensify her training sessions.

Just as Levi was about to wear his mask, his eyes caught sight of the not so empty wall, vandalised with several lines that he had carved before.

_Ah, this hideout was…_ His thoughts trailed off, as his eyes soften at the memory.

With them changing hideouts every now and then recently, he had almost forgotten that this was the hideout where that memory existed.

"What are you doing?" Mikasa asked, approaching him from behind. "Isn't Kenny waiting out—oh… this is…" Even if it had been more than a decade, she still remembered. Even after all the bloody events that bloodied her innocence for good, that had wrecked her mind for a period of time, memories like those still found a space in both heart and mind. "In the end, I did grow taller than you." She chuckled lightly. "_Shortass._" _Genetics really did betray him, huh?_

"Tch. Brat." Was the only thing Levi could respond with before he put on his mask. He hated the nickname she gave him, 'shortass'. But to be fair, he called her a brat.

All in all, he did miss those times, those little peaceful times they managed to have before everything went downhill. Like when his bloodlust first broke out and how he…

He didn't want to remember that now. While his first bloodlust awakening wasn't as severe as Mikasa as Kenny had been there to stop him, it didn't make the experience any less petrifying or traumatising.

"Come on, brat. Took you long enough to get ready." He said, wearing his mask as he switched the topic, "Let's go."

* * *

**Author's note:**

I apologise for this Filler (extra) chapter. Before I get into why, I want to mention something else **IMPORTANT.**

***While writing the next chapter regarding Levi's past, I think my descriptions became a little too…gory. I'm not sure, _BUT_ I just want to put it out there;**_** I don't want to end up unintentionally triggering anyone.**_** But for the most part, I think the violence is canon-compliant? (Keep in mind we did see Isabel's and Farlan's gruesome death… mike's as well.). Either that or I will lessen the descriptions/details slightly? We'll see. Just read the Author's note in the beginning / above before proceeding with future chapters.***

Now onto why I released a filler instead of the actual next chapter; looking back at the previous chapters I've written, I realise there might be some accidental plot holes and wrong-toned interactions I've written and overlooked. I plan to change them before I publish the actual next chapter. Of course, I will inform / write a quick summary in Author's notes if you don't want to reread what I have changed.

The next chapter is 90% done (I just have to decide if I should lessen the detail for the murder part.), and just for context and for the people who wanted a more Levi-focused chapter since I've been focusing on Mikasa for quite some time, the upcoming two chapters will be more about him, his past and first bloodlust breakout.

Once again, I am sorry for this Filler chapter. I will update with the next actual chapter as soon as I can. Please Leave a Review if you want; criticism that is constructive would be appreciated. Thank you for reading and your patience!


	9. Levi Ackerman —〈 I 〉

**Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.**

**Note: Please read Author's note at the end; involves changes made to previous chapters.**

* * *

_The following day, the first thing Eren was greeted by early in the morning was the sound of the doors being loudly slammed open. "EREN!" It was Jean, and just the volume of his yell was enough to send the Prince shooting right up._

_"Horseface…?" Eren grumbled out tiredly, a yawn escaping his lips. "Why the hell are you shouting so early in th—"_

_"IT'S THE ACKERMANS! THEY ATTACKED LAST NIGHT!"_

* * *

Levi had honestly, _genuinely_ thought he had awoken to one of those few peaceful mornings he rarely ever had in his life. It wasn't because of the soft, fluffy mattress that starkly contrasted his own bed back at the shit-hole to which was equivalent to that of a brick wall, and it wasn't because the air above was more breathable as compared to the underground.

It was the tea Hanji had given him yesterday night. It had soothed his nerves, calmed the hurricane and storm of his thoughts and reduced them to a quiet breeze. He was able to get a good night's rest. It was strange, how something as simple as tea had the power to relax a man like him. And if it weren't for the fact that he had woken up so soundly, in the same room he slept in, he might've thought it was a drug that she had served him.

Alas, long-lasting good things barely happened in his life. And this peacefulness shattered in an instant when one of Paradis's guards burst in his room (Which he shared with a few guards; it didn't bother him as much, given the personal space provided. However, sometimes their snores were _absolutely_ intolerable.), informing them with panic that the Ackermans had strike.

That was the last goddamn thing he wanted to hear this early in the morning.

He was struck with bewilderment upon hearing that piece of information. He didn't think Kenny would be so careless to leave his mess uncleaned especially on the surface… unless he wanted to create trouble for them. But even that didn't make sense, he had seemed so serious before about them finishing this mission. It wouldn't make sense for him to make things more difficult for them, at least not to this extent. And then, he was struck with worry at the possible idea that it could be Mikasa.

_She had nearly gone mad the other day. Her bloodlust nearly overtook her. So what if…_

_No._ He didn't want to think about the mere possibility of that.

However, when he rushed out of the room to Mikasa's, he didn't see her. When he made his way worriedly to the hall, all he saw were the advisors scrambling to reassure the guests who were either fearful for their lives, fearing that they might be the next victim. Or, they were outraged and angered at Paradis's _'flimsy'_ security that had let this happen when they were supposed to be the nation that had the strongest military. He still didn't see Mikasa. But what he did see—or noticed—was that despite the chaos erupted and flooding the halls, the Prince wasn't around, some of the Princesses and aristocrat's daughters weren't either, two or three of the advisors weren't too. In the midst of the noise, he could hear the faint sound of horses galloping outside that gave him an inkling of where the missing people could be at.

As he forced his way outside, he quietly hoped that it wasn't Mikasa who caused all of this.

* * *

Making his way towards where the crowd gathered, his nose caught the sickening scent of _blood._ The scent was accompanied by the mourning sound of cries reverberating in the air and hushed, broken whispers of grief. Perhaps if this had been years ago, Levi might've found himself on the edge of losing his sanity and soul to the blood-lusting monster resting within him that waited for its release. But now, he had mastered control; for the most part at least. Having placed restraints all over that monster of his, the sight of the corpse that his eyes just caught sight of after he squeezed his way through the crowd sent him nothing but pure disgust running through his veins. Unlike the commoners, it didn't horrify nor stun him. Or _trigger_ him.

The motionless, bloodied body laid inside what looked like a shoe-maker's workshop. The white blouse the corpse had on had patches of blood that were absorbed from his unforgiving wounds that were clearly too late and too severe to mend. The crimson spots accumulated around the torn parts of his shirt, the spots where many suspected that it was the cruel work of a knife being shoved right through. Killed, by the hand of an Ackerman— that was the most of the crowd's verdict.

Beside him, he saw a man with his knees on the ground, his hand wrapped tightly around the dead's as he cried out in a tone that was strangled while he fought through his sobs, "Brother…! How could they…? You…You can't be dead…" The crowd around him had begun to tear up too. Tears of sympathy. Tears of rage. _Because how _dare_ the Ackermans terrorize their peaceful lives again?_

Levi didn't shed any tears, though. Was it heartless of him? He had grown so accustomed to see dead bodies of strangers that either died by his, Mikasa's or Kenny's hand that it practically numbed him.

He briefly tore his eyes away from the unsightly mess, scanning the crowd to see if Mikasa was around. He saw the Prince in the midst of his search, whose expression detailed the frustration and guilt he felt rushing in his veins. He didn't let his mind ponder so much on him when his eyes finally spotted his sister who stood a row or two behind the Prince. Relief washed over him. _She wasn't behind this then._ Levi concluded. _If it was, she wouldn't be standing here, with the same clothes she wore the other day, clean from any shitty traces of blood…_

Levi paused in his thoughts when he noticed her expression, similar to his, one that was filled with disgust suddenly shift to a look of uncertainty after she had squinted at the corpse slightly, analytically, prompting Levi to do the same. _Why was she looking at the corpse—_

And then it dawned upon him. Her look served as a confirmation of his earlier doubts. This _couldn't _be done by the other absent Ackerman; or an Ackerman at all. The poorly executed and messy kill couldn't have been done by any of the three remaining criminal clan members if their sanity was still intact, their bloodlust concealed. Kenny had constantly emphasised and trained them to kill with a single strike if and whenever possible. Because the mess would be easier to clean. Because it'd be easier to cover up their tracks. Because if it were prolonged, who's to say their bloodlust won't erupt and take over? The several holes all over the unfortunate victim contradicted the style of their usual killing. The culprit behind this didn't even go for the neck; just the body. So, Kenny couldn't have possibly be the one… right? He always went for the neck first, after all.

Hanji emerged from the crowd, with gloves on and a look of complete solemnness that Levi wouldn't have thought that somebody as bubbly and chatty as her could ever muster.

She knelt down, blocking out the man's sobs. Her hands meticulously and carefully went over the man's wounds briefly, "Did you see the killer?" She asked calmly.

"I…I…It was the damn Ackermans!" He screeched, and his grief soon morphed into an ugly rage. "You…You're an advisor aren't you…? WHERE WERE YOUR GUARDS?! ALWAYS DEPLOYING YOUR REGULAR GUARDS TO SURVEY THIS PLACE! THEY'RE CLEARLY INCOMPETENT! By the time they arrived, he was already DEAD! Are you so selfish to not spare and provide your civilians the elite guards?! The Prince—"

"Calm down sir." Hanji mumbled. "Did you see the killer or not?" Her nonchalance caught Levi by surprise, and he heard the crowd's whispers of grief switch to mocking whispers, picking on her heartlessness.

_How can she be so calm?_

_She doesn't sound sympathetic at all!_

_Has she no heart?_

Levi disagreed. He couldn't say for sure, but perhaps they shared similar values. Getting personal emotions involved in work was the last thing anyone needed. But he could see. He could see the ache in her eyes that reflected her anxiousness and distraught at the disturbing scene. She kept it buried underneath, trying to conceal it with professionalism. And perhaps that was where the two differed. While Levi might feel bits of pain during the slaughters, numbness never ceased to be the more powerful 'emotion'. Whereas for Hanji, there seemed to be less of that numbness. Just more hiding.

_Everyone had their own mask, don't they?_

"I did! Like I said it's those bastard Ackermans!" Hanji's eyes narrowed, and Levi's curiosity piqued. _Why was this woman seeming to be unwilling to push the blame to the Ackermans?_ To his knowledge, it was practically a norm when a crime happened—pushing the blame onto the Ackermans, that is.

"Did you see their faces?" Hanji proceeded with the questions that only enraged the commoner even more.

"I-…I woke up to see his dead body! You think I saw?!"

Her chestnut coloured eyes averted its gaze away from the corpse, examining the crowd and seemed to consider something. To Levi, it looked like she was close to forming a conclusion on this case. A conclusion that most likely differed from Levi's who assumed that the murderer was probably from some loan shark. It wouldn't be a first.

Hanji stood up, removing her dirtied gloves. "I am sorry for your unfortunate loss. We'll do our best to capture them. For now—"

"You always say that! But you never!" Levi would disagree to that too. There were times when a few guards—sometimes disguised—were deployed to the shit-hole to find them, or traces that could act as a lead for them. But they never did, even after all the houses they practically ransacked, they never did find any traces or clues. Aside from the advantage they had of having their identities unknown, hidden behind a mask, there were also just some hidden places in the underground that only those who lived there could practically find. Albeit, their roaming sometimes gave them other sorts of troubles.

"Sir—"

"How—"

The rest of their conversation was drowned out by Levi when he realised he was heading off track with his intentions of going there in the first place. He had to talk to Mikasa privately, and ask if she had any knowledge about this incident. And then discuss what to anticipate next should Paradis decide to heighten up security, or worse, cancel this whole event. Because regardless of the change in direction or circumstance, Kenny expected no failure.

However, to his dismay, he no longer saw Mikasa gathered in the crowd. And he didn't see the Prince around either.

* * *

He decided to return back to the castle after a failed search, and after overhearing a conversation between one of the guards to another to gather the guests back as well as the advisors as a meeting would be held. _Perhaps Mikasa went back._ He thought.

Unfortunately for him, by the time he arrived back, he saw his sister just entering the meeting room. Again, he had lost his chance to converse with her privately. And even better, he wasn't allowed to be in the meeting—it was strictly for the noble guests. He could only hope Mikasa could hold her own in there, should they question her anything.

The only thing he could do now was wait, like the rest of the personal guards who either lingered or gathered into small groups to discuss about the incident.

He leaned against a wall, once again choosing to isolate himself from the crowd. He pinched the bridge of his nose before heaving a sigh. _Why is today so fucking troublesome?_ He thought to himself, before his mind drifted off, thinking back to the argument he and Mikasa had the other day. _Or is she purposely avoiding me?_

Levi didn't think or at least hoped she wasn't purposely avoiding him. He liked to believe Mikasa had the maturity to understand during circumstances like this, they should set aside their quarrels and focus more on the mission that could cost them their lives.

But Mikasa was more sensitive than him, even if she didn't like to admit it. Underneath the monotonous look she wore, there was a girl who _had_ to lock too many emotions away. And that's why Levi feared for her, an Ackerman driven by intense emotion was dangerous when it came to bloodlust. Perhaps all this sensitivity that sprouted in her was due to the massacre she caused. The innocent lives she took at such a young age. Something as traumatising like that _doesn't_ go away easy for a young child.

Thinking back about that, his mind inevitably thought back to his own first outbreak. He was sixteen. And it happened so suddenly; but he couldn't say unexpected. Not when sixteen was supposed to be the age, not when it happened so soon after the death of Isabel and Farlan. Driven by grief, devastation and madness, he killed the entire household as opposed to only the target Kenny had assigned him.

Kenny managed to save him before he could start his own massacre. Screams seemed to travel around fast in the underground, and apparently his uncle had been expecting his breakout—sixteen was the age after all.

He recalled forcing his footsteps to be as light as a feather rather than dragging them even if for some reason, they felt heavier than usual. It wasn't something someone like him should be having trouble with, but with his mind full of dark clouds and hazy thoughts it was hard to maintain the stealth he trained so hard to perfect.

It was his first mission that outright involved murder right after the recent death of the two people he could call friends; _family._

_Fuck everything._ He thought grimly. To his knowledge, they and a few others who attempted to escape the hell-hole were unfortunately met with guards who refused to let them pass through and enter the land of 'heaven'—not unless they received permission from the higher-ups. _It's fucking stupid_, Levi clenched his fist as his pace unintentionally quickened, so did his heart rate ever so slightly. _They live on and grew up in this shitty island too, and they treated them like fucking pests or enemies._

What did they ever do to the surface? What had Farlan and Isabel ever done to them?

He didn't despise the surface entirely; because realistically, if one were to successfully forge a fake identity and live up there without getting caught for the rest of their lives, they would have successfully escaped hell. What he did despise to the core was the ignorance and illogical brutality that existed up there within the people that they would lash out on innocent people down here who just wanted a better life. He detested how their ignorance caused them to ostracise the people living in underground, even if technically, they were people of Paradis too; people who didn't choose to be born at the short end of the stick. People who didn't have a choice in choosing their lives.

Apparently, impatience and vengeance got the best of one of the escapees who were with them. A fight started. Vulgar words and then fists and knives were thrown and plunged. Death followed after, and as merciless as it was, no one escaped.

He already told both of them that it was a stupid idea to venture on the surface now—because after a murder Kenny had committed up there, security had been raised up higher than usual. With an increased chance of people getting caught, Levi couldn't risk them even nearing the exit of this hell-hole.

However, he couldn't tell them either. Not the full story. Them ever finding out he belonged to the Ackerman Clan would result in something that Levi could only assume was death or something worse. And Kenny made that clear to him when he first befriended them. All he could do was persuade them.

"But Levi, didn't you say you rather have you and your sister live on the surface too?! This is our chance! I'd have never guessed that Johnson would be able to come up with such a fool-proof scheme to carry a few up there!" Farlan reasoned. "We could lay low at the country side, forge new identities and live up there peacefully without crimes happening so often, without worry that there might be no food on the table." He paused. "…Without any worry that one day the future King or current council would raid and destroy this place if they decide that the illegal activities here no longer benefit Paradis's economy."

"Or do you not want to live there anymore because of your resentment of what those surface people have done to our kind?" Farlan asked, "Look, I hate what they do to us too, but it's undeniable that living up there is still better. We don't have much of a choice if we want a better life! So put aside your pride and—"

"You've never been on the shitty surface before." Levi said frustratedly. "For all you know, that fucking Johnson could be selling you out."

"You haven't been on the surface before too!" Isabel countered with a frown. "C'mon bro! Think about it. Fresh air and—"

"No means no!" Levi slammed his hand on the table, startling the both of them. They've never seen him so outraged and furious before. They never seen him so against something like a possible and plausible chance to escape. "It's true that living on the surface is better than this shit-hole, I agree. But not now." He paused, considered briefly before he parted his lips hesitantly to speak. "I… heard from someone recently that security has tightened up there."

"Huh?! From who? You told me beforehand you couldn't come by because you wanted to stay by Mikasa's side the whole week because she had gotten a high fever! _Where_ could you have possibly got that information from?!" Farlan frowned. Levi wanted to respond, however with all the lies his Ackerman heritage made him tell them instead, and with all the lies he told them leading up to this moment, he couldn't produce a believable lie that'd make sense with the other lies.

So when he couldn't formulate a reply in time, Farlan continued, deciding not to dig too deeply into Levi's contradictions, "Johnson's gang checked last week! It's the same as ever." Kenny's murder was committed two days ago, so of course they wouldn't know. "I mean yeah, its strict. But because that corrupt council does some illegal biddings here and has some connections down here, there are some gaps that—"

"Don't." Levi warned them, his tone growing more forbidding than he intended for it to be. There was concern in there too, but Isabel and Farlan were too baffled by his strange behaviour to notice it. "Just… don't. Trust me…_please_." Suddenly, it sounded more a plea which puzzled them even more. "End of discussion."

After the killing, they had disposed their corpses back in the underground for it to rot and decompose; when Kenny first came across it, he wasn't surprised. If they wanted to hide their sins, they'd throw it back to hell. The only thing that amused him was that he saw the two friends he sometimes saw Levi and Mikasa meet stacked up along with the other fools who attempted to escape. He eventually told Levi who soon became a victim to grief.

He hadn't expected them to not listen to him, and now he wondered if it'd have been better if he had told them why. If he had revealed to them everything— that he was an Ackerman. If he had told them the truth of it all, maybe he could've found a way to not let Kenny know; to protect them. _Would things be different? Would they still be alive? Would the consequence of finding out that I was an Ackerman be better than…?_

In the first place, it was selfish of him to ever befriend them on that day when…

He had made a permanent choice that he now regretted, and there was no way of ever amending his decision.

In the end, it was a tragic friendship that ended with them never knowing who he actually was.

Guilt weighed heavy in his heart, and so did a disgust he directed at himself. Because how _dare _he let it happen?

He should've known they'd be stubborn and not head his words. He could've been there to save them.

_And_ Mikasa. He hadn't even told her yet. He wasn't sure if he could.

"Do you know who killed them?" He didn't mean for it to sound more of a threat as it should as a demand. Anger was boiling within him, a thirst for revenge that exposed itself in his devastated eyes.

"What makes yer think I'd know?" Kenny scoffed at his gutsy nephew before lighting up his cigar. He was amused that he didn't even flinch when a puff of smoke left his lips; he was aware of how much of a clean-freak he was and how he detested the scent of cigar smoke because the air down there was polluted enough (something Kenny didn't really give much shits about.). "Because you always know things that we don't. You have connections as the Ripper and even more when you wear that shitty mask."

"So fucking pushy. Yer' know how I hate telling things I don't want to. Surprised that yer' so upfront with it today." Kenny breathed in another bout of nicotine and considered. Perhaps if he had been in a bad mood, Levi would have received a different answer then what left his lips along with the grey puff of smoke, "Blonde hair, blue eyes, typical short haircut for a man. He had an ugly and shitty nose and brows. One of 'em looked like that, the other ones I forgot. And for 'em names, I don't bother to remember." He shrugged. "But I already told ya. Do not interfere with those bastard royals and their guards if you can avoid it."

Levi remained silent, and that brought even more concern to Kenny because the last thing he wanted and dreaded was for him to cause chaos with the royals. "If ya want to beat up or kill some random scum down here for relief, I ain't stopping you. But do _not_ get involved with those stuck-up shits. Step one foot in that ridiculous castle and trust me, the consequences from me and them are gonna haunt yer' forever." He warned, before his eyes fixed itself onto him, hardening into a threatening gaze. "Think about the possible trouble yer' might cause for your dearest, beloved old uncle," Maybe if Levi wasn't grieving, he would've cringed at his Uncle's statement. "…and that other brat." He added.

"You already lost two, yer' really want to lose your last company?"

Of course, Levi didn't. But it didn't mean the burning and aching urge in his heart to seek revenge disappeared. Not so easily.

He felt sweat coursing down his forehead while his body grew hot, and he couldn't tell if it was because of the mask he wore or if the underground weather decided to torture him. And while he never had trouble seeing through the little holes in his mask that granted him sight, the world was beginning to—not exactly blur—appear… _unstable_. That was the only fitting description he could think of in the heat of the moment.

Was this what loss and grief felt like? He didn't have time to ponder as he snuck into the home of the scum he was assigned to kill. He wondered if Kenny gave him this mission as a stress reliever; a considerate but sick thing to do.

_I'll just… get this shit over with…_ He thought, as he creaked open the bedroom door where he saw his victim sleeping soundly.

And while Levi didn't have the best sleeping schedule in the whole of Paradis, his eyelids had never felt this heavy before, so did his knife when he unsheathed it. Everything felt heavy and strenuous and for some reason he felt all his five senses dulling, being obstructed by some force because that man's loud snore was softening and growing loud at odd, inconsistent times.

_What the fuck is wrong with me?_ He found himself dragging his feet towards his bed, fortunately his victim seemed to be a deep sleeper who couldn't hear the loud elephant sounding stomps that Levi took while he approached him. _Do I have a fever or some fucking shi—_

His thoughts halted, eyes widened, horrified at the man before him.

Blonde hair. His eyes traced down. Weird, ugly looking uneven brows and a horrendously looking crooked nose.

_No. No. It can't be him. He…_

_But what if it is?_ Something… someone echoed in his head, a deeper sounding and haunting voice that strengthened a particular urge in him. _You never know._

Unaware, his hand began to tremble and shake as he found himself in a different battle when he started to hear raspy noises chanting him to—

The knife slipped from his loosening grip, plummeting itself down onto the man's chest. And unfortunately, it was enough for the deep sleeper to wake up, his eyes gradually opening, finding himself in a blur as his brain tried to process why a knife was on his chest and had disturbed his sleep.

A second passed, and Levi's own eyes found themselves fixated on the man's blue hues that couldn't escape his sight even in the petrifying dark.

_Blonde hair. _He felt his heart beginning to palpitate as another second went by, with the man finally taking notice of the masked man, squinting his eyes, possibly mistaking him for his son. _Ugly brows and nose._ He felt his whole body begin to shake as an animalistic sort of instinct began to settle in, and while his heart started to settle— the palpitations were replaced by a corrupted, wicked desire that tainted it. _Blue eyes._

_Kill, kill, kill, kill…_

_It's him. _The voice tempted. _Kill him._

Three seconds went by and the fully awake and frightened man finally realised who he was.

"A-ACKER—"

Swift, and messy, Levi's hand had reached for the knife before slicing his neck to silence him.

And it didn't stop there.

_Stab. Stab. Stab him._

He drove the knife right at his neck, before using it to pry his disgustingly blue eyes right out his socket, tearing it and then crushing it with his bare hands. A maniacal laughter left his lips while a feeling of satisfaction of watching the red liquid leaking out from his—

Footsteps. He heard footsteps coming. It was most likely the innocent family he had, the one that was clueless to all his illegal doings that Kenny had informed him of. Ah, but information like that could no longer reason him, nor did it seem to exist in his mind any longer.

He was starved for _more_. More deaths, more blood to fill this emptiness and sickly cravings he had in his heart; that the man barely filled.

And while a part of him wanted to continue torturing the lifeless body, the bloodlust desired fresh, new prey.

So when his eldest son opened the door, eyes as blue and hair as blonde as the old man, Levi couldn't resist.

Before he knew it, three deaths followed; three deaths that he took his sweet and dearest time to take away their life starting with gouging out all their eyes because they were all cursed with a blue that he came to resent.

He didn't even care that their screams that they let out before their final moments could possibly attract unwanted attention—if people come, _let _them come. The more the better. The more kills, more corpses.

His appetite was growing, but his obsession with crushing and mincing the blue orbs kept him at bay. At least for now.

Albeit, it didn't seem like his bloodlust would have its chance to show the underworld its horror.

"What a fuckin' mess." A familiar voice rang in the hallway, but it didn't seem to catch Levi's attention that was still fixated with ruining the blue. "I should've known. You're sixteen after all. Tch." Kenny clicked his tongue as he watched his nephew, as if possessed, busying himself with bloody things. He walked past the corpses, ignoring the scent of blood.

He took notice the one thing they all had in common other than being dead. Their eyes were ripped right out. _So, it's the eyes, eh?_ He thought, figuring what he must've have said before bothered his nephew. The man didn't have blue eyes, nor blue hair, though.

He had brown hair and eyes, so did the rest of his family.

_Hallucination?_ He considered as he stood behind his nephew, who was yet to react to his presence. _It ain't unusual to become delusional during their first breakout… or have some shit they're grossly obsessed with._

"Oi. Brat." Levi didn't turn nor acknowledged him, not until Kenny kicked him at his waist, clearly annoyed by this entire situation. "Oi. I'm talking to—"

The sounds of daggers clashing interrupted his speech, and Levi's enhanced aggression displayed by the way he moved his knife recklessly, aiming for his eyes first reminded Kenny how unstable and unpredictable Ackermans could be when their bloodlust had taken over them. How much stronger they tended to be than their usual self.

But Kenny wasn't so desperate or hopeless in the fight to let loose his own bloodlust, even if Levi had managed to wound him slightly more than he ever could during their trainings. A full-out fight between two men with bloodlust corrupting them was the last thing Kenny needed.

Their brawl continued until one dagger was knocked out of his grip; Kenny's grip. "Fuckin' troublesome—" He cut himself mid-way as he barely dodged Levi's next swing, swerving away and behind before kicking him down. "—bloody, brat." He held and forced his neck down, restraining himself from placing any more force for it to turn into a strangle. "Dammit Kuchel…" He murmured under his breath as he struggled to keep him on the ground, his body kicking and pushing while he debated if he should reach out for his spare dagger to weaken him. "You birthed a fuckin' curse. Why yer' gotta make my shitty life so hard?"

Kenny loosened his grip, and Levi broke free—to only find himself in another trap the moment Kenny unsheathed his spare dagger, striking his skin; making it bleed but not enough to kill. And while the monster in front of him was briefly distracted by his own blood trailing down, he took the chance to use his bare fists and knee to knock him out, but not without an arm twisted and sprained and other areas that Kenny almost crushed the bones of, bestowing him numerous new injuries before he was finally met with pitch black.

Trainings became more intense ever since then; there were times where he was so close to turning back to the monster he was, and there were a few times that he did. Control was something he never thought a man like Kenny could ever teach or drill into him, and yet he did.

"Levi…?" Mikasa peeked from the back door when she saw Kenny leave after he finished another session with him. Aside for a few moments of acknowledgement, Levi hadn't exactly spoken to her ever since he came back from his first outbreak, with what felt like crushed bones and an almost cracked skull that took a while to heal. Despite Kenny's statement that was meant to reassure him of the fact that he won't go mad again unless a few specific requirements were met, he still kept his distance away from her in fear of breaking out because at that time he didn't know if he exactly mastered control.

He looked at her with an empty stare. She was eleven and had already been undergoing a separate training with Kenny for a while now before he'd take her to deliver her first kill.

It was a cruel thing, an abnormal thing. Eleven-year olds shouldn't be desensitised to these sorts of things, humans shouldn't genetically be able to go batshit animalistic crazy and yet here they all were. "Are you… free?" She reminded him of Isabel, just a tiny bit. It ached him, and reminded him of how grief-stricken he was and how that grief morphed into something so warped that his very own eyes presented him with illusions to quench his thirst for revenge.

It sickened him more that supposedly, in five years' time, Mikasa would undergo something like that too.

While he was aware Mikasa knew some parts of the bloodlust, but like him, she was unaware of how frightening and traumatic it can actually be.

"…Maybe we can hang out with Isabel and Farlan." Mikasa innocently suggested, figuring that her brother needed to de-stress. While Kenny hadn't informed her of their passing, he did tell her about Levi's bloodlust when she asked why he was acting so differently. She didn't know how exactly to approach the topic to her brother who avoided her, and had decided to let it cool off for a while before she'd try to talk to him again. "We haven't seen them in a while." Levi flinched, and remembered that he hadn't told her about their passing yet.

"Maybe… with them, we can—"

"Mikasa." He called her name for the first time in a while, and if it weren't for the dread and utter gloom in his tone, she'd probably be a little happy about it. "There's… something I should've told you."

* * *

His thoughts were cut as he heard the doors creak and then burst open. His head snapped up as he watched the Princesses and aristocratic daughters exit the room, wearing looks of devastation. He noticed Mikasa, and immediately made his way towards her. She wore a dreary and drained look and he could only wonder why.

"Mikasa." He called out. "What happened in there?" He asked, his voice lowering as he stood in front of her, trying to get her attention.

Her head snapped up, as if noticing him for the first time. "Levi…" She acknowledged, and he could physically feel her forcing her guard back up. He watched a sort of uncomfortable and bothered look appear, and he assumed it was because of the fight they had the other day.

"I don't know who it was." She answered before Levi could ask, or think how to react to this more or less awkward situation, brought to them by their unresolved squabble the other day. "I _haven't_ heard from Kenny. And it's unlikely it's him. We both know that." Her voice was a hush, and she ran a hand through her hair. She took a glimpse of the surrounding area before focusing back to Levi. No one was close enough to hear them, all the women were engaged in their own conversation with their own personal guards regarding the updates. "They say security will be tightened both in the castle and the town. They'll be deploying a few of their elite guards at the town too. The event will still continue. Except, some of the women chose to return home in fear of their lives. A few will remain. But while they tighten security, the remaining women have been instructed to rest, so I don't know when the whole marriage events will formally resume. That is all."

"…Noted." He was glad she didn't blatantly ignore and avoid him, and still informed him of the updates, but he knew she still wasn't over about what happened the other day. And while he still wanted her to admit her wrongdoings, he felt like he should say something even if he didn't know what exactly he should say. "Wait—"

"I'm tired." She replied so quickly and turned away even quicker. "I've been feeling unwell since… yesterday. And when I saw that corpse…" She paused, and Levi waited patiently for her to continue. "…I'm going to rest for a while longer… there won't be any activities to get closer to the Prince today anyway. You can… continue with your work. I won't be in your way."

The awkward tension was palpable; at least on Levi's part. And to be frank even if he and Mikasa had fought before in the past, how they came and eventually reconciled was beyond him, especially when he wasn't exactly great at mediating things. He wanted to ask and say a lot of things, but he didn't know how or where to start. Moreover, it wasn't like their current location was the best place to talk.

"…Alright." He tentatively said. "…And—"

She started to make her way back to her bedroom once Levi gave her an "Alright" without a word, and definitely without waiting for him to finish.

Levi watched and let her leave. _She's tired._ He reminded himself silently as he started to walk off in a separate direction_. At least she's mature enough to not avoid me blatantly, her mind seems like it's on the mission but…_

The awkwardness was torturous. And she still seemed unwilling to be the one to apologise for her recklessness the other day. Were all teenagers like this? Troublesome and horrifyingly stubborn like a damn pig? If so, Levi couldn't wait for next year when she'd finally turn twenty. (Levi didn't want to admit it _now_, but he knew he could be quite stubborn too when it came to some peculiar things.)

_Anyway_, He thought, _I should probably take another quick look around before security tightens—_

Levi had his thoughts cut off the moment he heard a yelp along the corridor he was currently walking in. He couldn't say he was surprised by who it was upon approaching the area where the sound came from.

There she was, Advisor Hanji Zoe, with papers scattered and dispersed all over the floor after her slipping and falling ungracefully. She found herself hurriedly grabbing the pieces of paper, not caring too much if her grip crumpled or crinkled them. It was hard to believe that this was the same woman who was almost devoid of all (chirpy) emotions and had worn a look of seriousness earlier when she had been examining the corpse. The woman in front of Levi appeared stressed more than anything, frazzled by everything. He couldn't blame her. And oddly to him, he pitied her a little… even if he did find her loud and too jolly for him at times.

Maybe it was because she didn't seem as corrupt and devious as the other council members, at least from what he observed. If anything, from their previous conversation, it was clear to Levi the only reason why she was selected and promoted to a council member was because of her seemingly motherly or sisterly relationship she had with the Prince. They needed someone to put the Prince in his place and decided she was the 'best' fit, even if she prevented some of their original plans from being executed.

_A pawn. _Levi thought as he walked over to her, unnoticed, picking up sheets of paper closer to him. She reminded him of the pawn pieces Farlan sacrificed and made full use up to the bitter end in his game of chess.

"A-Ah! Levi!" Hanji exclaimed, finally taking notice of the man who had the rest of her papers in his hand. She stood up, a little ashamed for him to see her in such a dishevelled state (at least, more than usual). "Thank you…" She mumbled when he passed her the rest of the papers to her once she stood up and adjusted herself.

"Don't worry about today, the Princesses and the rest of the Kingdom will be fine today after we make the appropriate adjustments. So we—" She began to pour out a series of explanations, which in no doubt she had already recited to a few of the other noble guests.

"I didn't ask anything." Levi didn't mean for it to sound rude, but Hanji's flinch when he had cut her off told him otherwise. And as if he just recalled his role to play, he continued, "Princess Mikasa already told me about it."

"Ah… I see. She…" Levi arched a brow, wondering what she had to say about Mikasa considering she had been in the same meeting room as her. The meeting seemed to drain all the energy out of her after all, and while Mikasa did tell him about the changes that were to be made, she didn't go into detail what was discussed. "…Where is she?" She asked instead, noticing her absence.

"She's still feeling unwell, especially when she was there to witness the bloody scene." Levi explained flatly, "So, she went to rest and dismissed me for the rest of the day."

"Ah, I see…she did…" She paused slightly, and it made Levi raise a lot of questions. _She did… what? _He wasn't going to get his answer though, "… anyway, send her my regards and best wishes." She changed the topic and forced a smile, and Levi took a mental note to later ask his sister for a detailed explanation of what happened during the meeting. But for now, as long as their covers weren't blown, he chose not to go bother her rest.

Levi's eyes darted towards the several papers she held, and an idea occurred to him. He had gotten a fair bit of information after hanging around her the last time, whose to say he wouldn't attain more vital information if he got closer to her? It was a manipulative move, but if Levi needed to make use of what remaining pawns he had left to avoid failing this mission, he would, right?

He could tell she was worn out after the meeting, after the body she had to examine more closely. And he knew for a fact that most people tended to say and vent out unnecessary things in the spur of the moment when they are exhausted and overwhelmed.

"Since I am relieved of my current duties…" He said, "I don't mind lending you a hand, again, Hanji."

* * *

.

.

.

The way Levi clasped onto her wrist was tighter than a pair of metal restraints and chains. He didn't mean to be rough, but when he spotted her wearing a dark cloak, face partially covered with an equally black cloth, he couldn't help but seethe with—not just fury—but grave concern and disappointment. He knew that if he had been gentler in his attempt to stop her, she'd have easily slipped away and escaped.

_Had she not learnt her lesson? Where was she even going? _

His eyes focused on hers sharply, but this time the girl in front of him didn't flinch or look away passively. She stared straight back at him stubbornly, and perhaps if Levi had seen it correctly, there was a little plead engraved in her orbs that beseeched him _to let go. _

Regardless of the look she gave him, his mind was far from even considering to let go. He didn't even know where she was going. He didn't even know why she was about to do something this risky; it wasn't in her nature to be _this _reckless. He could only wonder what prompted her to act out like this, and regardless of how reasonable her reason was, he'd still find it inexcusable because she should know better to on act her own in the predicament they found themselves in.

"Where do you think you're going, Mikasa?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**NEXT (ESTIMATE) UPDATE: END JULY – AUGUST**

The changes I've made will be on my tumblr (I don't want author's notes to be longer than it probably already is haha) My tumblr is: rosaline-kei ; search the tag 'bloodlust' or 'my fanfic' under/in my account.

On a side note, if any characters seem quite out of character do inform me and I'll try my best to fix it. As for why Levi ever decide to befriend Isabel and farlan despite everything, it'll be shown eventually (hopefully; if it makes the final cut) if not, I'll write a side-chapter haha.

I hope the next chapter won't take too long. Originally, I was halfway done but then I suddenly had conflicting feelings with it because I didn't know if I portrayed Hanji properly and if the interactions between Levi and Hanji were like… good and made sense (haha). Let's hope I wont take too long to fix or rewrite that.

Next chapter will still be about Levi (mainly) and then after there most likely will be a focus on Mikasa and Eren.

Why did Mikasa not tell Levi about Kenny's visit? Why is she acting so recklessly(at the end; a peek of what's to come)? Will Hanji say anything to Levi vital to his mission? Will there be a LeviHan mOmENt—?

That aside, thank you for your patience. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

_**Please Leave A Review ! Would love to hear your thoughts.**_


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